Anaesthetic for Frame surgery
This is highly specialised complicated surgery that can take a number of hours to perform. Most of our patients have a general anaesthetic and a nerve block.
Before your operation we routinely give you pain killers so they are working for when you wake up
During your operation you are unlikely to need much in the way of strong pain killers as the nerve blocks will mean that your body will not be stimulated by the surgery. This means that despite often having had a very long anaesthetic most our patients wake up clear headed, comfortable and not feeling nauseous.
After the surgery the nerve blocks will mean that you have a very numb leg and foot for around 18 hours. It is important to remember that the pain process is going on in the leg but you are not feeling it because the nerve message is getting stopped by the nerve block injection. This means you should take your regular pain killers even if you feel the pain is not too bad as if you have not taken your tablets then your pain will be worse when the local anaesthetic wears off. Good pain relief is important as early severe post operative pain can lead on to become a chronic pain problem and nerve blocks provide excellent pain relief during this early post operative time.
Please see the following leaflets for more information on your anaesthetic: