Admir Hadzic, Jeffrey Arliss, Beklen Kerimoglu, Pelin Emine Karaca, Marina Yufa, Richard E.
Claudio, Jerry D. Vloka, Richard Rosenquist, Alan C. Santos, Daniel M. Thys; A Comparison of
Infraclavicular Nerve Block versus General Anesthesia for Hand and Wrist Day-case
Surgeries. Anesthesiology 2004; 101:127–132 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000542200407000-00020
In the article A Comparison of Infraclavicular Nerve Block versus General Anesthesia for
Hand and Wrist Day-case Surgeries the use of an infraclavicular nerve block with local
anesthesia versus general anesthesia were compared. It would appear that the infraclavicular
nerve block with the local anesthesia proved to be more beneficial for the patient due to
decreased post-operative symptoms such as sore throat, nausea, and vomiting, along with a
quicker discharge home, less pain while recovering in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) and
earlier ambulation compared to patients who had undergone surgery with general anesthesia
used. Time spent in the operating room was not significantly different between the two groups;
more patients from the infraclavicular nerve block group were able to bypass the first phase of
the PACU compared to those who were a part of the general anesthesia group. When the
patients were followed up with there was no significant difference in reports of pain or pain
medications taken at one or two days post op, however by 3 days post op patients who had the
nerve block had less pain and did not take as many pain medications compared to those in the
general anesthesia group.
Michael P. Gaspar, Jesse Lou, Patrick M. Kane, Sidney M. Jacoby, A. Lee Osterman, Randall
W. Culp, Complications Following Partial and Total Wrist Arthroplasty: A Single-Center
Retrospective Review, The Journal of Hand Surgery, Volume 41, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 47-53.e4,
ISSN 0363-5023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2015.10.021.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363502315013763)
In the article Complications Following Partial and Total Wrist Arthroplasty: A SingleCenter Retrospective Review the various complications following different surgical procedures
on the wrist were detailed along with their incidence rates. The surgical techniques used in the
study included total wrist arthroscopy (TWA), distal radius hemiarthroplasty (DRH), and
proximal carpal hemiarthroplasty (CH). The rate of complication for the surgeries included in
the study was 51%, while the rate of revision was 39% with the average revision taking place
21±23 months. Underlying conditions were put into two categories, inflammatory and
noninflammatory, there was not a significant difference in complication rates between the
groups. Prior surgeries did lead to a higher complication and/or revision rate compared to those
who had no previous wrist surgeries on the wrist in question. The most prevalent complication
after surgery was post-operative contracture, when the muscles, tendons, skin and/or nearby
tissues become very stiff.