A technique of selective epidural anesthesia for the knee replacement

Purpose: To develop and test the technique of unilateral epidural anesthesia and analgesia at the lumbar level for primary total replacement of the knee. Materials and Methods. The technique of unilateral epidural anesthesia presented as a component of balanced anesthesia and multimodal analgesia for total knee replacement. The study included 14 patients at the age of 42-76 years. Results. The unilateral insertion of an epidural catheter allowed achieving predominantly unilateral distribution of local anesthetic in the epidural space with subsequent development of selective sensory and motor nerve block. Conclusion. The unilateral epidural anesthesia provided patient’s adequate protection from surgical stress, as well as effective postoperative analgesia during total knee replacement.