Do Patients Who Receive the IPACK and Adductor Canal Catheter Have Better Outcomes Than Patients Receiving the Adductor Canal Catheter Alone for Total Knee Replacements?

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a surgical procedure that can be associated with significant post-operative pain. Poor pain control in the post-operative period has contributed to delays in early mobility and rehabilitation, an important part of recovery that is best started as soon as possible after surgery. Regional techniques in general have helped manage post-operative pain as well as minimize narcotic use. The application of femoral and sciatic nerve blocks has been shown to decrease opioid use; however, they were associated with adverse events such as quadriceps weakness and falls post-operatively. This led to the development of the adductor canal block (ACB) which has gained favor for providing superior analgesia over opioids alone, and for the added benefit of sparing the quadriceps muscle. Recently, adding local anesthetic to the interspace between the popliteal artery and posterior capsule of the knee (IPACK) blocks have been used to help address pain in the posterior part of the knee that is not well covered by the adductor canal block alone. While the sciatic nerve block is also an option to cover this area, it is associated with foot drop which can hinder early mobility. For patients undergoing TKAs at UCLA, our standard of practice is the ACB. The investigators hope to show with this study that adopting this novel block will help with post-operative pain control, decrease length of hospital stay, and increase distance walked during physical therapy.