ULTRASONOGRAPHICALLY GUIDED PLEXUS ANESTHESIA

Plexus brachialis anaesthesia is a common technique for hand and forearm surgery. If the distance between puncture site and plexus brachialis is to long the anaesthesia will be incomplete. If there happens a direct puncture and injection of anaesthetics in the nerves, neurological deficit can occur. Intravascular injection causes cardial complications. This problems can occur mainly in obese patients in whom the brachial artery cannot be identified well by clinical examination. In these patients we perform the plexus brachialis anaesthesia under sonographical control. For the examination we use a linear 7.5-MHz transducer. The technique is presented.