Manejo del dolor en plástica de LCA. Bloqueo del nervio safeno interno. Estudio comparativo

Abstract

Introduction: postoperative pain management in patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction should be included as a fundamental objective of any surgical strategy. The internal Saphenous Nerve block with ultrasound assistance is presented as an effective strategy for pain control without affecting quadriceps motor activity. The aim of this study is to compare the postoperative pain management in patients who have received an arthroscopic autologous Bone Tendon Bone (BTB) ACL reconstruction, using spinal anesthesia, selective internal saphenous nerve block, and multimodal analgesia scheme versus patients who received spinal anesthesia and same multimodal analgesia scheme.

Materials and methods: we performed a non randomized controlled trial, of two prospective series of patients by anesthetic strategy used: thirty-six patients in Group 1 and forty patients in Group 2. The average age by groups was twenty-nine years (range 20–42) in Group 1 and thirty-two years (18–49) in Group 2.

Results: statistically significant differences were found between the average pain values reported by Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) in two groups, showing lower pain records in Group I, as well in the evolution of pain in favor of Group I. Statistically significant differences were found between the mean levels of satisfaction with pain treatment.

Conclusion: in ACL reconstruction using BTB autologous graft, selective internal saphenous nerve block, with spinal anesthesia associated an adequate multimodal analgesia scheme, provides excellent pain control, allowing rapid hospital discharge with a high level of satisfaction.