Abstract
Blocks around the elbow of the wrist aim the terminal branches of the brachial plexus. These blocks are useful as rescue in case of failed or incomplete proximal blocks or, in combination with general anesthesia/proximal brachial plexus blocks, as a very effective way to provide long-lasting analgesia without blocking the whole upper limb. However, the need of a tourniquet at the arm makes these blocks not adequate as an anesthetic technique per se.
The nerves involved are median nerve, ulnar nerve, radial nerve, and lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm. The shallow location of these structures makes these blocks simple and easy to perform, specially using ultrasound guidance.
This chapter presents basic anatomical landmarks useful for the average anesthesiologist and describes ultrasound-guided techniques for each nerve block at the elbow and wrist level.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Reading
Jankovic D, Peng P. Peripheral nerve blocks in the elbow region. In: Regional nerve blocks in anesthesia and pain therapy; 2015a. p. 423–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05131-4.
Jankovic D, Peng P. Peripheral nerve blocks in the wrist region. In: Regional nerve blocks in anesthesia and pain therapy; 2015b. p. 431–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05131-4.
Lin J-A, Bendtsen TF, Lopez AM, Jalil H. Ultrasound-guided blocks at the elbow. In: Hadzic A, editor. Hadzic’s textbook of regional anesthesia and acute pain management. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2017. p. 586–90.
Zhu W, Zhou R, Chen L, et al. The ultrasound-guided selective nerve block in the upper arm: an approach of retaining the motor function in elbow. BMC Anesthesiol. 2018;18(1):143. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12871-018-0584-7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lobo, C., Peng, P. (2022). Peripheral Nerve Block Around the Elbow or Forearm. In: Jankovic, D., Peng, P. (eds) Regional Nerve Blocks in Anesthesia and Pain Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88727-8_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88727-8_27
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-88726-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-88727-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)