Lower Extremities- Kelly Flashcards
(157 cards)
Name 5 contraindications to lower extremity anesthesia
- Infection at the injection site
- Anticoagulant therapy
- Persistent peripheral neuropathies and/or paresthesias.
- High risk of developing compartment syndrome post op
- Surgical intervention on lower extremity nerves.
What are indications for lower extremity anesthesia?
-Surgery and/or tourniquet use of lower extremity-Post-operative analgesia-Diagnostic-Therapeutic-Arterial Occlusive Disease
Ahhhhh compartment syndrome… Let’s read a lil bit on how that comes to be shall we…..
Acute compartment syndrome is a complication following fractures, soft tissue trauma, and reperfusion injury after acute arterial obstruction. It is caused by bleeding or edema in a closed, nonelastic muscle compartment surrounded by fascia and bone. The most common cause for a compartment syndrome is bleeding, which can develop after vascular injuries or from cancellous bone following fractures or osteotomies. Another cause is edema developing after an increased capillary permeability which also may be due to an oxygen deprivation caused by bleeding. The edema increases the perfusion barrier resulting in hypoxia and acidosis. Following a vicious circle, hypoxia and acidosis again increase capillary permeability and fluid extravasation. Furthermore, the nonelastic osteofascial planes limit volume expansion of the edema and therefore increase the intracompartmental pressure. This leads to a reduced transmural pressure gradient between microcirculation and interstitium, which induces ischemia within the affected compartment.
Give an example of why the patient would have lower extremity anesthesia for a therapeutic indication.
Sympathetic outflow problems
When you twitch the sciatic nerve what do you want to see?
plantar flexion of the foot, or dorsiflexion of the foot…
For what diagnostics would the patient have lower extremity anesthesia?
Trying to diagnose different chronic pain syndromes or neuropathies
bonus question: If you get a plantar flexion or a dorsiflexion of the foot- what nerves are responding?
the posterior tibial nerve and the common perineal nerve respectively.
How or why is lower extremity anesthesia used to help arterial occlusive disease?
It’s used to compensate for arterial occlusive surgery - for example in peripheral vascular surgery (i.e., fem-tib or fem-pop bypass) - dilating those native blood vessels using the sympathectomy from the peripheral nerve block can sometimes make it easier for surgeons to do their anastomoses because the vessels are maximally dilated at the time that they’re operating on them
When you are twitching for the femoral nerve what are you looking for?
Patellar snap, which is twitching of the quadriceps femoris
When you are twitching the obturator nerve what are you looking for?
the adductor muscles of the medial side of the leg
What areas would you be most concerned about with compartment syndrome?
Generally with smaller sheath areas (i.e., popliteal block)
When you are twitching the lateral femoral cutaneous what are you looking for?
trick question……. no motor innervation.
The lumbosacral plexus is composed of the nerve roots from?
L2 to S3
Where is the sciatic nerve derived from?
L4-S3 nerve roots
Is the sciatic one nerve or multiple?
Runs as one nerve however it has a medial (tibial nerve) and a lateral (peroneal) division.
The femoral nerve is composed of which nerve roots?
L2-4
Where does the sciatic nerve divide into the tibial and the peroneal nerve?
At the popliteal fossa
The lateral femoral cutaneous is composed of which nerve roots?
L2-3
Where does the tibial nerve run and how does it divide?
It runs down the posterior of the leg and forms the posterior tibial nerve and the sural nerve.
The obturator nerve is composed of which nerve roots?
L2-4
Where does the peroneal nerve run and how does it divide?
laterally around the head of the fibula and further divides to form the deep peroneal nerve.
Which nerve(s) will we worry about for anterior type pain above the knee?
Femoral nerveLateral femoral cutaneousObturator
Psoas Compartment block: What does the psoas sheath refer to?
it is the potential space between the psoas muscle and the posterior fascia.
Which nerve(s) will we worry about for posterior type pain above the knee?
Sciatic






















