Usefulness of Awake Anesthesia in Flexor Tendon Surgery

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: According to various medical publications, it is believed that epinephrine should not be injected in fingers. However numerous articles show the successful use of local anesthetic with epinephrine in the digits. Epinephrine-mixed lidocaine solution enables to maintain a bloodless field for operation and provides long duration of local anesthesia when patient was wide awake. METHODS: From May 2009 to December 2009, ten patients underwent flexor tendon reconstruction with local anesthesia using epinephrine. No tourniquet was necessary. Before operation, all patients were injected with local anesthetics using 1% lidocaine 20 mL and 0.1% epinephrine 0.1 mL. RESULTS: There was no case of digital necrosis nor gangrene in the epinephrine injection. All 10 patients actively could move the finger through a full range of motion. All procedures were performed without sedation nor tourniquet and we could obtain a good vision of operative field and patients were comfortable. The patient make his or her fingers move through a full range of active motion before the skin is closed. Phentolamine was not required to reverse the vasoconstriction in any patients. CONCLUSION: The assertation that epinephrine should not be injected into the fingers is clearly no longer valid. The epinephrine injection allowed the authors to adjust flexor tendon surgery without risks associated with general anesthesia. It also enables to ensure longer anesthetic duration and bloodless operative field, and prevent post operative complications. In case of flexor tendon surgery, the use of epinephrine injection is recommended because of the advantages of local anesthesia.