Tarsal Tunnel Release

Anesthesia Implications

Position: Supine, arms extended
Time: 1-2 hours (average)
Blood Loss: Low (10-50 ml)
Post-op Pain: Moderate (3-6)
Maintenance Paralytic: Yes
Tourniquet Use: Yes

The dissection in this surgery is meticulous and runs close to nerves. For this reason, some surgeons prefer to have the patient completely relaxed.

Tourniquet (general considerations): Antibiotics should be administered prior to tourniquet inflation. Tourniquet pain usually begins 45-60 minutes after inflation and is unresponsive to regional anesthesia and analgesics. Upper extremity pressure should be set to approximately 70-90 mmHg above systolic blood pressure (SBP). Lower extremity tourniquet pressure should be set to approximately 2 times SBP. Upon tourniquet release, there will be increases in End-tidal CO2 and metabolic acidosis, while decreases will be seen in core body temperature, blood pressure, and mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2)