Combined Interscalene Brachial Plexus and Superficial Cervical Plexus Nerve Block for Midshaft Clavicle Surgery: A Case Series.

Clavicle fractures are common, and there has been a recent increase in surgical fixation of displaced fractures. General anesthesia is traditionally preferred for these operations because regional anesthesia can be challenging. This is partly due to a complex nerve innervation in this region, which makes the correct choice of nerve block difficult. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a combined interscalene brachial plexus block and superficial cervical plexus peripheral nerve block as anesthesia for clavicle surgical procedures. Ten midshaft clavicle fractures were surgically repaired using a combination of an ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block and a superficial cervical plexus block as the primary anesthetic. All patients underwent surgery successfully using regional anesthesia with light sedation, without the need for rescue opioids or rescue local anesthesia. No adverse events were recorded. This case series describes a successful peripheral nerve block combination that can be used for clavicle surgery.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared no financial relationships with any commercial entity related to the content of this article. The authors did not discuss off label use within the article.
(Copyright© by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.)