Learning Anesthesia
The challenges of learning perioperative anesthesia care have grown considerably as the specialty, and medicine in general, have evolved. The beginning anesthesia trainee is faced with an ever-increasing quantity of…
Scope of Anesthesia Practice
The specialty of anesthesiology has evolved dramatically since the first public demonstration of ether use in the 19th century. Originally, the emphasis was completely on providing surgical anesthesia. As surgical…
Head and Neck Blocks
Abstract The addition of head and neck blocks to a pain management physician’s skill set can be rewarding for the practitioner as well as the patient. An understanding of the…
Fluoroscopy and Ultrasound-Guided Sympathetic Blocks: Stellate Ganglion, Lumbar Sympathetic Blocks, and Visceral Sympathetic Blocks
Abstract The paravertebral sympathetic chain extends from the neck down to the coccyx where it fuses to become a single ganglion. Besides its role in the defense of the body,…
Ultrasound-Guided Musculoskeletal Injections—Shoulder, Hip, and Knee
Abstract The application of ultrasound for musculoskeletal injection is becoming a popular technique. As pain originating from the musculoskeletal system is one of the most common causes for patients to…
Fluoroscopy and Radiation Safety
Abstract The use of fluoroscopy has revolutionized interventional pain management. Fluoroscopy is required in advanced procedures where precise needle placement is necessary. The increasing use of fluoroscopy necessitates that the…
Truncal Blocks: Paravertebral, Intercostal, Pectoral Nerve, Suprascapular, Ilioinguinal, Iliohypogastric Nerve, and Transversus Abdominis Plane Blocks
Abstract Truncal blocks include the paravertebral, intercostal, pectoral nerve, suprascapular, ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric nerve, and transversus abdominis plane blocks. The anatomy involved in these blocks and conventional and ultrasound-guided techniques are…
Deep Muscle Injections: Piriformis, Scalene Muscle, Iliopsoas Injections
Abstract Pain syndromes that can be attributed to deep muscles are often caused by mechanical impingement of the muscular tissue upon traversing neurovascular structures. The most common of these disorders…
Ultrasound-Guided Procedures for Pain Management: Spine Injections and Relevant Peripheral Nerve Blocks
Abstract Ultrasound guidance for performing interventional pain procedures is a relatively new approach when compared to traditional anatomic-landmark or fluoroscopy-based methods. Ultrasound allows interventionalists to enhance accuracy and safety of…
Interventional Pain Procedures and the Risk of Infection
Abstract Interventional pain procedures and surgeries, while considered minimally invasive, can have serious, life-threatening infectious complications. The risk of infection varies considerably based on the type of procedure and patient…
