Local Anesthesia for Knee Arthroscopy

Abstract

We performed a retrospective review of a series of knee arthroscopic procedures that were completed using lo cal, general, or regional anesthesia to evaluate the ef ficacy of these anesthetic techniques. Operative time, complications or failures, procedures successfully per formed, recovery room time and postoperative stay, and patient satisfaction were recorded. Local anesthesia with intravenous sedation compared favorably with the other techniques: operative time was not increased, a large variety of operative procedures were successfully completed, recovery time was significantly shortened, and patient satisfaction remained high. This technique offers several advantages over other types of anesthe sia for knee arthroscopy, including improved cost ef fectiveness.