2013 ISAKOS Congress : A Prospective Double Blinded Randomized Study of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With Hamstrings Tendon and Spinal Anesthesia With or Without Femoral Nerve Block

32 patients were randomized to undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with spinal anesthesia and patient sedation with or without an additional femoral nerve block, in order to determine what impact the femoral nerve block would have on pain and early functionality. Following 7 days of assessment, results indicated that the femoral nerve block provided significant short term pain relief within the first 6 postoperative hours. However, this benefit was lost at the third day. Functional outcomes remained similar between the two groups throughout the duration of the follow-up period.