Patient Concerns About Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) Hand Surgery

Author(s):  
Marie T. Morris ◽  
Elizabeth Rolf ◽  
Yash R. Tarkunde ◽  
Christopher J. Dy ◽  
Lindley B. Wall
Hand Clinics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro José Pires Neto ◽  
Samuel Ribak ◽  
Trajano Sardenberg

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Cardell ◽  
F Jung ◽  
N Zechmann-Müller ◽  
M Greminger ◽  
L Kern ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Wide awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) hand surgery offers the opportunity to create a bloodless field without using an arm tourniquet. Lidocaine for anesthesia mixed with epinephrine for hemostasis is frequently used without concerns in the hand and finger. This is a major improvement for the patient and the surgeon in terms of patient comfort and having the opportunity to test the hand and finger function intraoperatively. The movement away from tourniquet surgery, which often requires sedation or general anaesthesia is one of the most significant recent advances in hand surgery. Methods A subcutaneous infiltration of a mixture (1:100’000) of lidocaine (1%) and epinephrine (buffered 10:1 with 8.4% bicarbonate) is done with a 27 G canula. The mixture is infiltrated wherever surgical dissection, k-wire insertion, or manipulation of fractured bones will occur. The local anesthetic results in an extravascular Bier block. The injection is done slowly from proximal to distal to minimize injection pain. After the last injection a minimum time of 30 minutes should be waited for maximal epinephrine vasoconstriction in the finger. Results In the beginning WALANT was only used for small procedures like trigger finger or carpal tunnel release. Meanwhile also major hand surgical procedures like finger fractures, flexor tendon repairs, tendon transfers, arthroscopies, arthroplasties and open triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) repair are performed in WALANT. Even procedures like trapeziectomy have been described using wide awake hand surgery, which involves numbing the joint itself. Conclusion The use of WALANT is a proven safe technique that can be used in up to 95% of hand surgical procedures. The benefits for patients and surgeons are obvious. Patients prefer the technique because there are no side effects of opiates or sedation. The anesthetic risk is minimized. Time at hospital is reduced. Patients do not have to suffer tourniquet pain. Surgeons prefer the technique because of the bloodless surgical field without tourniquet, the possibility of intraoperative testing of stability of prosthesis or fracture stabilization, strength of a tendon repair, the movement and gliding properties in the flexor tendon sheath after repair or testing the tension of tendon transfers. These are probably the reasons for the continuously growing popularity of this technique worldwide.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 3587-3591

The aim of the study was to confirm the effectiveness and safety of wide awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) technique in hand surgery, to present our results and to encourage its use on Romania and all over the world. The study group consisted of 120 patients in which local anesthesia with 1% lidocaine and 1: 100,000 epinephrine solution was used. The conditions requiring surgery were Dupuytren disease (DD) stages II and III affecting one or two digital rays, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), trigger finger (TF), rupture of the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon. The amount of anesthetic used, onset time, intraoperative bleeding, surgeon’s comfort during surgery, patient’s comfort, operative time, the immediate postoperative complications and length of hospital stay were evaluated, correlations between these parameters being made with the help of SPSS 20.0 software using regressions (ANOVA), and taking into account Pearson correlation coefficients with statistical significance, alpha at most .05 and CI 95%. In the group of 120 operated patients (58 men - M and 62 female -F) (M/F ratio = 0.93), no cases of digital necrosis or other vascular complications were recorded. Also, the absence of tourniquets did not result in intraoperative bleeding causing discomfort to the surgeon. The amount of anesthetic varied, being less than that recommended in the literature in approximately 40% of the cases. In all cases, patient comfort and satisfaction were highest, and length of hospital stay was several hours. Phentolamine, an antidote used to reverse the effects of epinephrine, was not used in any case. The correlation coefficient between the amount of anesthetic and waiting time = 0.3372 (p = 0.0001) - positive, direct, moderate, and statistically significant correlation. The correlation coefficient between the amount of anesthetic and length of hospital stay = 0.2700 (p = 0.002) - positive, direct, weak and statistically significant correlation. Correlation coefficient between age and length of hospital stay = 0.1361 (p = 0.1380) - positive, direct, weak correlation, but statistically insignificant. WALANT technique is safe and has many advantages: no need it is not necessary to use the tourniquet and intravenous sedation, surgeon and patient comfort is maximum, there is no risk of finger necrosis, intraoperative collaboration and last but not the least, hospital stay is short and costs are minimal. Keywords: local anesthesia, epinephrine, Dupuytren disease (DD), carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), trigger finger (TF)


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9S) ◽  
pp. 94-95
Author(s):  
Julia Anne Cook ◽  
Daniel P. Donato ◽  
Jeffrey N. Gross ◽  
Patrick A. Gerety ◽  
Sarah E. Sasor

2019 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ediana Hoxhallari ◽  
Ian J. Behr ◽  
Jonathan S. Bradshaw ◽  
Michael S. Morkos ◽  
Pam S. Haan ◽  
...  

Hand ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 155894472110588
Author(s):  
Matthew Pina ◽  
Antonio Cusano ◽  
Matthew R. LeVasseur ◽  
Rafael Olivieri-Ortiz ◽  
Joel Ferreira ◽  
...  

Background: We attempted to evaluate patient satisfaction and overall experience during wide awake, local anesthesia, with no tourniquet (WALANT) hand surgery and quantify surgery-related outcomes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patient demographics, comorbidities, and patient reported outcomes via Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) scores collected pre- and postoperatively of patients undergoing WALANT surgery by the 2 participating senior authors. A solution of 1% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine was used by 1 surgeon, while the other used a 1:1 ratio of 1% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and 0.5% bupivacaine for local anesthetic injection. Patients were administered a postoperative survey to assess patient experience, including anxiety and pain levels, and overall satisfaction in the perioperative period. Results: Overall, 97.7% of patients indicated that they would undergo a WALANT-style surgery if indicated in the future, 70.5% ate the day of surgery, and a total of 39.1% of patients reported driving to and from surgery. Postoperative SANE scores increased as compared with preoperative scores across all patients. The use of combination 1% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and 0.5% bupivacaine was associated with lower intraoperative and postoperative visual analog scale pain scores. Conclusions: WALANT hand surgery was generally well tolerated with excellent surgical outcomes. Patients reported ease of preparation for surgery, faster recovery, and lack of anesthetic side effects as the main benefits of wide-awake surgery. Combination use of lidocaine and bupivacaine may be better than lidocaine alone with respect to pain control in the initial recovery period.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 389-391
Author(s):  
Ian Jason Castro Magtoto ◽  
David Limlingan Alagar

Background: Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) uses a mixture of lidocaine and epinephrine for anesthesia and has found great success in hand surgery. At the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC), we still use local anesthesia along with a tourniquet which gives the patient pain and discomfort at the tourniquet site. This study aims to determine perioperative and post-operative pain, intraoperative bleeding and immediate clinical outcomes of patients using WALANT for surgical anesthesia for carpal tunnel release. Methods: A case series of all patients who underwent carpal tunnel release under WALANT from April 2016 to September 2016 is presented. Those with concomitant trigger finger and de quervain disease which required release on the affected hand were also included. A tourniquet was on standby in case of uncontrollable bleeding. Intraoperative bleeding, pain NRS scores, and return to daily activity were noted. Results: Thirteen patients were included in the study; 3 were male, 10 were female. Mean age was 58 years, Mean surgical time was 15 minutes. Twelve were reported to have “some bleeding” and one was reported to have “bleeding but was still manageable”. None of the surgeries were totally bloodless or had too much bleeding that necessitated a tourniquet. Pain NRS scores during injection of local anesthesia had a mean of 2. None of the patients felt pain during and immediately after the surgery. Average time return to daily activity was 6 days. No complications were noted. Conclusions: Patients included in the study who underwent carpal tunnel release under WALANT did not experience pain associated with a tourniquet. Visualization of the field was adequate enough for the surgeons to do the surgery without the need for a tourniquet and with no associated complications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 3587-3591
Author(s):  
Mihaela Pertea ◽  
Oxana Madalina Grosu ◽  
Bogdan Veliceasa ◽  
Natalia Velenciuc ◽  
Petru Ciobanu ◽  
...  

The aim of the study was to confirm the effectiveness and safety of wide awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) technique in hand surgery, to present our results and to encourage its use on Romania and all over the world. The study group consisted of 120 patients in which local anesthesia with 1% lidocaine and 1: 100,000 epinephrine solution was used. The conditions requiring surgery were Dupuytren disease (DD) stages II and III affecting one or two digital rays, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), trigger finger (TF), rupture of the flexor pollicis longus�(FPL) tendon. The amount of anesthetic used, onset time, intraoperative bleeding, surgeon�s comfort during surgery, patient�s comfort, operative time, the immediate postoperative complications and length of hospital stay were evaluated, correlations between these parameters being made with the help of SPSS 20.0 software using regressions (ANOVA), and taking into account Pearson correlation coefficients with statistical significance, alpha at most .05 and CI 95%. In the group of 120 operated patients (58 men - M and 62 female -F) (M/F ratio = 0.93), no cases of digital necrosis or other vascular complications were recorded. Also, the absence of tourniquets did not result in intraoperative bleeding causing discomfort to the surgeon. The amount of anesthetic varied, being less than that recommended in the literature in approximately 40% of the cases. In all cases, patient comfort and satisfaction were highest, and length of hospital stay was several hours. Phentolamine, an antidote used to reverse the effects of epinephrine, was not used in any case. The correlation coefficient between the amount of anesthetic and waiting time = 0.3372 (p = 0.0001) � positive, direct, moderate, and statistically significant correlation. The correlation coefficient between the amount of anesthetic and length of hospital stay = 0.2700 (p = 0.002) - positive, direct, weak and statistically significant correlation. Correlation coefficient between age and length of hospital stay = 0.1361 (p = 0.1380) - positive, direct, weak correlation, but statistically insignificant. WALANT technique is safe and has many advantages: no need it is not necessary to use the tourniquet and intravenous sedation, surgeon and patient comfort is maximum, there is no risk of finger necrosis, intraoperative collaboration and last but not the least, hospital stay is short and costs are minimal.


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