With evidence on the benefits of ultrasound-guided procedures for improving patient safety and procedural success on the rise, there’s never been a better time to learn best practices from a leading critical care anesthesiologist. That’s why we were excited to work with Dr. Souhail Jaziri on a webinar featuring his tried and true technique for ultrasound-guided WALANT (Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet) for hand surgery. A critical care anesthesiologist in Paris who has spent 15 years using ultrasound guidance, Dr. Jaziri has seen the positive impact of using the right technology. 

Dr. Jaziri routinely uses the Clarius L20 HD3 ultrasound scanner when performing up to 60 WALANT procedures per day while working at the busy emergency clinic at Paris West Hospital. The WALANT method allows his team to provide effective localized pain relief while promoting a level of movement needed for optimal surgical results.  

He demonstrates the precise procedure during the one-hour webinar, which is now available to view on demand. Following are a few highlights. 

WALANT Anesthesia 

Dr. Jaziri starts the webinar with a brief history of the WALANT procedure, which was first popularized in Canada 30 years ago as a non-echography treatment of upper- and lower-extremity fractures. However, WALANT is a relatively new treatment in French clinics that only made its mainstream debut five years ago. 

Dr. Jaziri points out that WALANT provides surgeons and patients with an easy, safe, and comfortable technique that abandons tourniquet use. Patients are not forced to restrict food before or after surgery due to the fact that there are no concerns about postoperative nausea and vomiting. More importantly, there’s no need for patients to stop medications. Finally, patients are able to handle their own transportation to and from surgery. 

Dr. Jaziri also points out that surgeons are increasingly adopting WALANT because it allows them to test surgery actively without long and tedious post-operative monitoring. He shares that ultrasound-guided WALANT also enables care providers to pivot from hospitals and surgical centers to dedicated areas that require only single drapes. When discussing the cost reduction offered by WALANT, Dr. Jaziri cites literature that found that WALANT costs $44 per minute less compared to general anesthesia or local anesthesia with tourniquet. Dr. Jaziri also shares that a WALANT procedure costs $3,344.46 less than an anesthesia procedure. 

Patient Outcomes and Satisfaction 

Dr. Souhail Jaziri shares that WALANT has higher or equivalent satisfaction rates compared to general anesthesia or local anesthesia with tourniquet. The complication rate is also flat compared to other techniques. In fact, Dr. Jaziri reveals that he has never seen a single complication with WALANT in his own clinic. 

Applications for the WALANT Technique 

So in our practice we do it for trigger finger releases, flexor tendon releases, carpal tunnel releases, finger tumors, Dupuytren disease, and tendon transfer,” shares Dr. Jaziri when discussing what his use of WALANT looks like in his busy Parisian clinic. He also touches on the use of WALANT for treating foot fractures. As he goes into detail about what the injection process looks like, Dr. Jaziri discusses the way that high-resolution ultrasound gives physicians «what they want» when using WALANT. 

Watch this 2-minute video to see an accurate pre-surgical palmar anesthetic injection  

We can see our structures to be avoided, like nerves, vessels, flexors sheaths,” shares Dr. Jaziri. He stresses the way that ultrasound makes it possible to control distribution when facilitating anesthetic infiltration around the lesion when treating fractures, cysts, lipomata, or flexor tendons. With ultrasound making it possible to use longer needles, the physician can reduce the number of punctures needed. 

Ultra Portable Wireless Ultrasound for Regional Anesthesia 

Dr. Jairizi uses the Clarius L20 HD3 ultra-high frequency scanners for his WALANT procedures. Visit our Regional Anesthesia page to learn about the range of Clarius scanners available to help clinicians around the world with rapid ultrasound guidance for accurate and effective blocks. We would be delighted to schedule a virtual demonstration with a Clarius expert at your convenience. Contact us today.