Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about other types of

aniseasea.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash other anaesthesia

or in the anaesthetics and ICU section of the zero to finals

surgery book. So let's get straight into it. General anesthesia has several side effects and

risks. Where possible, it's desirable to keep the patient awake and only anestiseatized the area required for the operation.

Generally, this leads to better pain relief, fewer medication side effects and a smoother recovery.

Let's start by talking about peripheral nerve blocks.

Peripheral nerve blocks are a type of regional anesthesia.

The patient remains awake during the procedure.

A local anaesthetic is injected around specific nerves,

causing the area distal to the nerves to be anisotized.

This usually involves making a limb completely numb so that a surgeon can

operate without causing any pain. A screen is put up between the patient and the operation site

so that they cannot see the operation taking place. The injection is performed under

ultrasound guidance, sometimes with the help of a nerve stimulator

so that it can be accurately applied to the area around the targeted nerve.

Regional anaesthesia will be performed

where there are facilities available to quickly induce a general anaesthetic

if it's not effective or the patient starts to experience pain.

During the procedure, patients will be closely monitored.

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