Safety of the Posterior Approach to the Brachial Plexus

A reply

“…We stand humbly corrected. We also apologise for asserting that the Pippa technique was used in the two case reports published in 2006 in this journal [2,3]; it is just that the authors described it as the Pippa technique and quoted Pippa's original paper when describing the landmarks and technique they used [4]. We were unaware that a block performed with the exact landmarks and needle direction described by Pippa but not actually performed with a loss of resistance to air technique or with the patient in anything but the sitting position cannot properly be described as a 'Pippa technique'.…”

“…There has been some correspondence on this matter in the literature [2][3][4]. Although the editorial is amusing, well written, thoughtful and comprehensive, the conclusions are clearly tilted in favour of the traditional interscalene technique.…”

In defence of Pippa

“…I should like to react to the recent editorial concerning the posterior approach to the brachial plexus [1]. There has been some correspondence on this matter in the literature [2–4]. Although the editorial is amusing, well written, thoughtful and comprehensive, the conclusions are clearly tilted in favour of the traditional interscalene technique.…”