In Reply

Webbet al. note our conclusion that “the combination of femoral and sciatic nerve blocks provides the best analgesia”1 and assert that it is “not surprising that anesthetizing multiple nerves is superior to blocking a single nerve.” In fact, it was hardly a forgone conclusion that sciatic nerve blocks are necessary, because femoral nerve blocks alone work fairly well and might have proven sufficient, especially when combined with sup plemental nonopioid systemic analgesics. Our results clearly show that sciatic nerve blocks significantly augment the benefit of femoral nerve blocks, and—importantly—quantify the effect magnitude.

Source: Anesthesiology - January 17, 2018 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research