Local and regional anesthesia
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Systemic sclerosis (SSc), previously known as progressive systemic sclerosis, is a form of scleroderma and a multisystem connective tissue disease which can impact on every aspect of anesthetic care, especially airway management. In this review we outline clinical manifestations and current medical treatment of the disease, and general principles of anesthetizing these patients. We focus on the role of regional anesthesia, including neuroaxial anesthesia, which may serve as a safe alternative to general anesthesia but can be technically challenging. We address concerns regarding abnormal responses to local anesthesia which have previously been reported in patients with SSc, and explore future developments in technology and pharmacology, which may enable regional anesthesia to be performed more successfully and with fewer complications.
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Case Reports
Severe cast burn after bunionectomy in a patient who received peripheral nerve blocks for postoperative analgesia.
Although regional anesthesia offers advantages for intraoperative and postoperative pain relief, it is not possible without complications. A case of a significant burn injury after splint placement is described after a peripheral nerve block was performed for postoperative pain management. It is our hope that this case alerts physicians and others involved in the management of postoperative patients to the challenges of managing a blocked extremity after thermal cast placement and offers solutions that can be standardized.