Postoperative Analgesia with Saphenous Block Appears Equivalent to Femoral Nerve Block in ACL Reconstruction

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

80 patients scheduled to undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft were randomly assigned to receive femoral nerve block (FNB) or subsartorial saphenous nerve block (SSNB). The purpose of this trial was to compare the analgesic effectiveness of both nerve blocks with respect to pain relief, total narcotic consumption, patient satisfaction, and duration of analgesia provided by SSNB. The findings indicated no significant differences in pain relief or total narcotic consumption. Patients in the FNB group were more satisfied with the analgesic regimen than patients in the SSNB group on postoperative day one; this finding was statistically significant, although it was not sustained on day two.