Nerve blocks as part of a multimodal analgesic protocol

Nerve blocks, also known as regional anaesthesia, is the technique whereby a local anaesthesic solution is deposited around a peripheral nerve to desensitize a region of a patient's body to facilitate surgical interventions.

Nerve blocks are an important part of a multimedia analgesic protocol. Depending on the local anaesthesic drug used and the skill of the operator, pain signals originating from the surgical site may be completely blocked from entering the spinal cord, thus lowering intra-operative analgesic and anaesthesic requirements as well as improving patient comfort post-operatively. Furthermore, nerve blocks have been shown to decreased recovery time and may mitigate the development of secondary hyperalgesia (the so called "wind-up" phenomenon.

The performance of an effective nerve block requires an understanding of the regional anatomy, the equipment required to perform a block and basic knowledge of the pharmacology of local anaesthesic drugs.

If nerve blocks sound daunting, I hope my web webinar will demonstrate the ease by which most common nerve blocks can be performed.

About our speaker

Dr Abdur Kadwa

Abdur Kadwa is a senior lecturer in anaesthesiology at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He graduated in 2015 from the same faculty and returned in 2017 to pursue a small animal rotating internship. In 2018, he commenced his residency in anaesthesiology. In 2021, he graduated with a Master of Veterinary Medicine degree in anaesthesiology; his mini-dissertation is titled Canine blood oxygenation using ultra-low blood flow in an in vitro, single-circuit, extracorporeal membrane oxygenator model. In 2022, he passed his ECVAA board examinations. He has published multiple papers in peer-reviewed journals. His professional interests include blood gas physiology and analysis as well as extra-corporeal technologies.

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