A Randomized Comparison of a Continuous Posterior Tibial Nerve Block and Single Injection Posterior Tibial Nerve Block in Patients Undergoing Forefoot Surgery

Foot surgery often causes severe and prolonged pain postoperatively. Prior methods of postoperative pain control included oral narcotics, single injection regional techniques and more recently continuous nerve catheters. Recent studies have demonstrated a benefit with continuous popliteal catheters when compared to single injection techniques in regards to postoperative pain control and patient satisfaction for foot surgeries.

Nerve blocks in the popliteal fossa involve both the common peroneal nerve and the tibial nerve. The innervation to the plantar surface of the forefoot involves the tibial nerve and does not involve the peroneal nerve. The purpose of this study is to compare the continuous posterior tibial nerve catheter with a single injection posterior tibial nerve block when used as part of a surgical ankle block for forefoot surgery.