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Essentials of Regional Anesthesia pp 463–481Cite as

Head and Neck: Scalp, Ophthalmic, and Cervical Blocks

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Abstract

Even though head and neck blocks are among the easiest to perform due to constant and reliable landmarks, they are still infrequently used by anesthesiologists in the operating room. This is in part because general anesthesia offers a safe and easy alternative for most surgeries involving these anatomical areas. Nonetheless, neural blockade has become the mainstay of anesthetic techniques for (a) most ophthalmologic cases, (b) neurosurgical procedures or carotid endarterectomies where intraoperative neurological assessment is required, and (c) a safe alternative for patients with low functional reserve that would have a poor tolerance to general anesthesia. These blocks can also prove to be useful for the anesthesiologists themselves, in techniques for airway management in awake patients.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Residency Training Program, Department of Anesthesia, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada

    Desiree Persaud MD, FRCPC

  2. Département d’anesthésiologie, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Sébastian Garneau MD, DMV, FRCPC

Authors
  1. Desiree Persaud MD, FRCPC
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  2. Sébastian Garneau MD, DMV, FRCPC
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Desiree Persaud MD, FRCPC .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Hosp and Ochsner Kenner Hosp, Prof and Chairman,Dept of Anesthesiology, Director of Interventional Pain Mgmt., Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, 70112, USA

    Alan David Kaye

  2. Harvard Medical School, Director, Proced Sedation Mgmt & Safety, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Med, Boston, 02115, USA

    Richard D. Urman

  3. Yale University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, New Haven, 06520, Connecticut, USA

    Nalini Vadivelu

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Persaud, D., Garneau, S. (2012). Head and Neck: Scalp, Ophthalmic, and Cervical Blocks. In: Kaye, A., Urman, R., Vadivelu, N. (eds) Essentials of Regional Anesthesia. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1013-3_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1013-3_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-1012-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-1013-3

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