Atlas of Regional Anesthesia

In the 1950s, Daniel Moore of the Virginia Mason Clinic published Regional Block. That text became a principal reference for anesthesiologists and trainees interested in regional blocks for surgery and treatment of pain. In the years since, the use of regional anesthesia has increased owing to a variety of real and perceived benefits. For example, some data show that patients who receive extremity blocks may be discharged earlier than those who have received general anesthesia, leading to more efficient throughput of patients undergoing ambulatory surgery. Also, the adverse effects of general anesthesia (eg, nausea, vomiting, residual sedation) may be mitigated by using regional blockade in place of, or in addition to, general anesthesia. Lastly, regional anesthesia is perceived to be less costly than general anesthesia, but the veracity of this perception remains controversial and complicated.