Ultrasound Improves the Success Rate of a Sural Nerve Block at the Ankle

Abstract

: Ultrasound guidance using the lesser saphenous vein as a reference point results in a more complete and longer lasting sural nerve block than does a traditional approach using surface landmarks.

An ultrasound study of anatomic variants of the sural nerve

“…Based on the intimate relationship between the lesser saphenous vein and the SN, Cartwright et al 10 reported on the cross-sectional area of the SN in the distal calf. Redborg et al 7 reported that ultrasound guidance improved the quality of SN block in comparison to a traditional landmark-based technique. Kamm et al 6 evaluated the usefulness of ultrasound to improve positioning of the recording needle for nerve conduction studies of the SN.…”

Ultrasound Improves the Success Rate of a Tibial Nerve Block at the Ankle

“…Based on extrapolating the results from our sural nerve study, 10 we hypothesized a success rate of 95% in group US and 50% in group LM. With a power of 0.8 and a type I error rate of 0.05, 18 subjects were required for the paired comparison in which each subject served as his/her own control.…”

Ultrasound in Regional Anesthesia

“…In this RCT, we were imaging the sural nerve at the distal fibula. 6 The image provided for the sural nerve reveals a circular hyperechoic structure immediately beneath the lesser saphenous vein (Fig. 4).…”