Evaluating the Safety and Effectiveness of Super?cial Cervical Plexus Block in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as an Alternative to General Anesthesia and Local Anesthesia in Space Infections: A Prospective Clinical Study

ABSTRACT

Background: Regional anesthesia is the most commonmethod to anesthetize the patient prior to office basedprocedures. Many techniques can be employed to achieveanesthesia of the dentition and surrounding hard and softtissues of the maxilla and mandible. Aim of the study Toassess the safety and effectiveness of super fi cial cervicalplexus (SCP) block in oral and maxillofacial surgical (OMFS)practice as an alternative to general anesthesia in selectivecases.Materials and Methods: The total number of patients was 50,out of which 35 were male and 15 were female patients.Informed & written consent were obtained from the patientsafter they had the procedure explained tothem. Medicallycompromised patients and those who were excessivelyanxious and apprehensive, patient who did not want theprocedure to be done under regional anesthesia, and patientswitha history of allergy tolocal anesthetic were excluded. Allpatients had their surgical procedures under regionalanesthesia (SCP block with supplemental nerve blocks)performed by the same surgeon under the supervision ofanesthesiologist with continuous monitoring.Results: SCP block with concomitant mandibular nerve andlong buccal nerve block has a high success rate, lowcomplication rate, and high patient acceptability as shown inthe study.Conclusion: Superficial cervical plexus block anesthesia is asafe and useful anesthetic technique with the low risk ofaccidents and complications, thus a good alternative forregional anesthesia in OMFS cases.