Summary Fifty patients with fractured neck of femur that required surgical correction with either a compression screw or pin and plate device were randomly allocated to receive one of two anaesthetic techniques, general anaesthesia combined with either opioid supplementation or triple nerve block (three in one block) with subcostal nerve block. The nerve blocks significantly reduced the quantity of opioid administered after operation; 48% of these patients required no additional analgesia in the first 24 hours. Plasma prilocaine levels in these patients were well below the toxic threshold, and peak absorption occurred 20 minutes after the injection. No untoward sequelae were associated with the nerve blocks.

Sixty patients underwent arthroscopy of the knee as day cases using a local anaesthetic technique. This provided satisfactory operating conditions and high patient acceptabifity. Spinal and epidural anaesthesia provide satisfactory conditions for operations on the knee, but are unsuitable for day patients. This paper evaluates a simple and safe technique, based on a method first described in English by Braun in 1914.