Local Anesthesia for Postoperative Pain Relief after Foot Surgery: A Prospective Clinical Trial

Abstract

A prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial was set up to test whether the addition of ankle block to general anesthesia was useful in providing postoperative pain relief following forefoot surgery. Forty feet (20 treatment, 20 control) were entered into the trial and all underwent bony operations on the first ray. Pain was assessed at fixed times following the operation using pain analog scales. Analgesic consumption and wound healing were also assessed. A significant difference was found between the pain scores in the two groups at the 6-hr stage, but there was no difference in any of the other assessments. It is concluded that ankle block is a useful addition to general anesthesia for this type of surgery.