Oberst’s block anaesthesia

According to Oberst, a block anaesthesia is an anaesthetic procedure for fingers and toes. The procedure is used both in emergencies after injuries and during planned operations. Each finger or toe has a total of four main nerves, which all have to be anaesthetised.

Two nerves are located on the flexor side and two on the extensor side. With the Oberst line anaesthesia all four nerves are anaesthetised with only two punctures. The cannula is punctured on the extensor side and advanced along the bone to the nerves on the flexor side.

There the first amount of local anesthetic is injected. After pulling back slightly, a further quantity can be injected on the extensor side. The same is repeated on the other side of the finger or toe.

After only a few minutes the finger or toe is completely painless and surgery can be performed. Since the responsible muscles are located on the forearm or lower leg, mobility is maintained throughout and only touch and pain sensitivity is eliminated. The name Oberst goes back to a German surgeon in the 19th and 20th century who developed this anaesthetic technique.

Conduction anesthesia in the upper jaw

For dental treatments, a block anaesthesia can be used to enable a painless procedure. The nerve responsible for the upper jaw is the superior alveolar nerve, which originates directly from the middle branch of a cranial nerve called the trigeminal nerve. Each tooth has its own branch from the main nerve and depending on where the anesthetic is placed, only a few teeth and the outer gums become numb.

The cannula is usually inserted into the top of the gums and lidocaine is injected. Some dentists use a combination of the local anaesthetic lidocaine and adrenaline as this can prevent heavy bleeding. The anaesthetic sets in after a few minutes and lasts for about two hours.

Before the anaesthesia, the dentist asks whether previous local anaesthetics were well tolerated. In most cases there is no control of success. If there is still pain at the beginning of the treatment, a second dose of local anesthetic is injected. Since the effect lasts only for a short time, the patient can leave the practice after the treatment and does not need to be checked further.