Abstract
Regional nerve block for upper limb surgery is an established procedure. Our study was undertaken to look at the patient experience of this. We prospectively studied 59 consecutive patients undergoing shoulder arthroscopic surgery under regional anaesthesia in our department. They completed a questionnaire which they brought back at their first follow up appointment. The questionnaire gathered information of their experience of anaesthesia and surgery, adequate postoperative information. We reviewed if intra-operative pain occurred and if the patients would undergo such a procedure again. All surgeons were upper limb specialists.3 out of 59 patients required conversion to general anaesthetic (5%) due to failure of the block. The introduction of the block was mainly painless;with patients giving a mean scoring of 0.59 on the visual analog pain score (VAS, range 0–5). 26 patients (44%) expressed interest and watched their operation. Of those, 7 patients felt anxious after having the proceedings explained.1 patient discontinued to watch due to this. 10 patients experienced intraoperative pain, 2 requiring local anaesthetic, 8 receiving sedation, giving a mean score of 3.2 on the VAS. 81.4% of patients would have surgery with regional anaesthetic again, 85% would recommend to others. 83% of patients received adequate information. Overall satisfaction of the experience was rated out of 10, with a mean score of 8.7 (median 9). Regional blocks are an established technique. Since patients are awake and can watch their surgery, it is important to consider the patients perception of this experience. The majority of viewing patients were reassured by explanations of their pathology. Most patients would undergo another procedure with regional anaesthesia and would recommend it, suggesting that this is an effective and popular choice. The overall experience is positive. This supports our intention of offering regional blocks for all upper limb surgery, facilitating increasing use of day case facilities, reducing inpatient stays
