Your anaesthetic for limb surgery may be:

  • A ‘block’
  • A general anaesthetic
  • A combination of both

A ’block’ usually used for surgery on an arm or leg in orthopaedics, plastic surgery or vascular surgery
A ‘block’ is a type of anaesthetic where we numb an area of the body instead of a general anaesthetic (full unconsciousness) or for pain relief as well as a general anaesthetic.

  • It involves numbing the arm or the leg.
  • It can be used as the only anaesthetic for your operation.
  • It also serves as excellent pain relief during and after your operation.

What are the risks and side effects with my block?

Side effects are secondary effects of drugs or treatment. They can often be anticipated but are sometimes unavoidable.

Complications are unexpected and unwanted events due to a treatment.

  • Discomfort at the site of injection
  • Deep pressure/fullness on injection
  • Paraesthesia / Tingling (a feeling like when you hit your ‘funny bone’)
  • Block failure
  • Local bruising/inflammation
  • Vascular puncture

  • Transient nerve damage i.e. prolonged duration of numbness, e.g.3 days
  • Infection/Abscess

  • Permanent nerve damage

  • Allergy to the local anaesthetic drug
  • Local anaesthetic toxicity: varying from no symptoms to anxiety, tingling, to loss of consciousness, seizure, or cardiac arrest or serious injury

For a block performed on the neck there is also a very rare risk of

  • Lung puncture
  • Subarachnoid injection (spinal tap)
  • Subdural/Epidural injection

  • Sore throat 1 in 3 cases

  • Damage to teeth
  • Feeling sick and vomiting
  • Shivering and feeling cold
  • Confusion and memory loss – this is more common in elderly
  • Difficulty passing urine
  • Dizziness

  • Anaphylaxis: 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 20,000

  • Blindness: 1 in 1,250,000
  • An inherited reaction to the anaesthetic that causes breathing difficulties
  • Waking up during your operation
  • Death 1 in 100,000 to 1: 200,000 cases