This study assessed the efficacy of a modified transthecal digital block. Three-hundred-and-sixty consecutive digits were anaesthetised with this technique for the treatment of fractures, infections and foreign bodies. Complete palmar and dorsal anaesthesia was achieved in 357 of the 360 digits (99%), including 52 of 53 thumbs (98%). The technique was extremely easy to perform and no complications occurred.
Copyright 2001 The British Society for Surgery of the Hand.