We recently invited Dr. Greg Hickman, Medical Director and Anesthesia Director at the Andrews Institute Ambulatory Surgery Center in Florida, to share his techniques for using ultrasound for more effective regional blocks in patients undergoing knee surgery during a recent webinar.
Dr. Hickman has perfected his block techniques over the past 30 years and he believes ultrasound enables better pain management results. He enjoys sharing what he’s learned during webinars like these and through his popular regional guided anesthesia educational website Blockjocks.com. Watch the webinar at your convenience or read on for highlights.
Ultrasound-Guided Superior Lateral Genicular Nerve Block
Historically, genicular nerve blocks were provided to patients with chronic knee pain, and under fluoroscopic guidance. They’ve recently been added for total knee and ACL surgeries and can easily be done under ultrasound guidance.
Although there are 4 genicular nerves, Dr. Hickman blocks only the superior lateral nerve. In his experience, post-op knee pain was common in the superior and lateral aspect of the knee, an area that wasn’t effectively anesthetized with the IPACK and adductor canal catheter. So, for knee surgeries at the Andrews Institute, the superior lateral genicular nerve is isolated and blocked with no distal motor blockade.
Watch the video to see how Dr. Hickman performs this nerve block using ultrasound to image the precise location along the distal femur, and his needle in-plane for the injection.
Clear Ultrasound Guidance for Regional Anesthesia
Optimize patient comfort and minimize complications! Wireless and pocket-sized, Clarius delivers the high-definition imaging and performance of traditional ultrasound systems in a highly affordable ultra-mobile scanner. You get a clear visualization of your needle and target anatomy for safe, accurate procedures, every time. Learn more on our Anesthesia Specialty Page.
To learn more about the high-frequency Clarius L15 HD3 handheld ultrasound scanner that Dr. Hickman uses, contact us today or request an ultrasound demo.
