Conduction anesthesia is a special anesthetic procedure. It is used to turn off specific nerves or nerve branches.
What is conduction anesthesia?
A conduction anesthesia is an anesthesia procedure in which the physician subjects specific nerves or nerve branches to anesthesia. A conduction anesthesia is an anesthetic procedure in which the physician subjects specific nerves or nerve branches to anesthesia. He uses local anesthetics, which are used for local anesthesia of the skin. The conduction anesthesia is counted among the procedures of regional anesthesia. The method is also used in dentistry. By administering anesthetics in the vicinity of nerves, it is possible to prevent painful impulses from being transmitted toward afferent nerve fibers. In medicine, a distinction is made between peripheral and spinal cord procedures.
Function, effect, and goals
Conduction anesthesia is usually performed by an anesthesiologist. This anesthesiologist collaborates with the physician who performs the actual surgical procedure. Both peripheral and spinal regional anesthesia procedures can be used. A peripheral procedure is when individual nerves or even a nerve plexus are specifically blocked. The anesthetized nerves are responsible for supplying a specific region of the body. The targeting of these sites is done under the control of ultrasound or a nerve stimulator. The anesthesia takes place through the use of a local anesthetic, which is injected with a cannula. Control via ultrasound has been well established in recent years and is now considered standard. Thus, the failure of the blocks is significantly lower due to ultrasound control. The same applies to the injury of blood vessels. This form of conduction anesthesia is often used on the arm. Here, blockades of the brachial plexus or of individual nerves of the fingers or hands take place. However, the leg can also be subjected to conduction anesthesia. Blocks of the sacral plexus, the lumbar plexus, the obturator nerve and the femoral nerve are common applications. Ophthalmology uses the procedure in the context of intraocular surgery. However, the most common field of conduction anesthesia is dentistry. There, it is primarily used to block the mandibular nerve. However, other nerves can be subjected to conduction anesthesia. In medicine, a spinal anesthetic is understood to be an epidural or peridural anesthetic as well as a spiral anesthetic. In these methods, the anesthetic is applied to the nerve roots, the exit of which is in the spinal cord. In spiral anesthesia, the anesthesiologist punctures the cerebrospinal fluid space at the level of the nerve roots. The injected drugs cause rapid anesthesia of the lower part of the body. Usually, this is a single injection. In a peridural anesthesia, a catheter is advanced into the peridural space. This allows the local anesthetic to act primarily outside the meninges on the spiral nerves that branch off the spinal cord. In conduction anesthesia, the anesthesiologist creates smaller depots of the local anesthetic, which has a long-lasting effect. He injects these depots into the adjacent area of the exit sites of sensitive nerves. To locate the appropriate sites, the physician uses a nerve stimulator. This sends out electrical impulses that are so low that they do not cause any pain. If the needle of the stimulator is in the direct vicinity of the nerve, this results in twitching of the affected hand or foot. After identifying this location, the anesthesiologist can inject the appropriate local anesthetic. It takes about 10 to 20 minutes for the nerve supply area of the affected part of the body to stop feeling sensation. After the muscles go limp, the surgical procedure then begins. Patients who are afraid of the procedure may also be given a sleeping pill. This is not as effective as general anesthesia, but the patient is usually unaware of the operation. Conduction anesthesia is used whenever larger areas of the body, such as an arm or leg, need to be anesthetized without having to use general anesthesia.This form of regional anesthesia is often used on the arms or legs. However, minor procedures on the knee or foot, such as the removal of varicose veins or dental treatments, are also possible with a conduction anesthetic. The same applies to operations on the face, eyes or male penis.
Risks, side effects and dangers
Following the conduction anesthesia, the anesthesia of the corresponding body part continues for a while. This means that the patient must behave with caution, as pain is temporarily absent as a warning signal. Once the organism has broken down the anesthetic, it can react to the stimuli normally again. Various side effects are possible with conduction anesthesia. These include, for example, incomplete effectiveness of the anesthetic. In such cases, the anesthetic must be repeated. In addition, swelling, foreign body sensations, problems with speaking or swallowing, pain at the injection site, lightning-like pain or discomfort when touching the nerves, or bruising may occur. Infections due to the penetration of germs are also conceivable, but can usually be avoided through consistent hygiene measures. Because the needle tips used in conduction anesthesia are usually beveled and blunt, the patient need not fear nerve injury. Moreover, direct contact of the needle with the nerve would be immediately noticeable by pain. There is also no danger from the injected anesthetics during local anesthesia, as the body quickly breaks down their substances and the nerve’s functionality is fully restored.
