Hip prosthesis, goodbye pain and you'll be back on your feet even sooner

With PENG block anesthesia reduced side effects and faster muscle recovery

di Paola Raschielli

A new technique of locoregional anesthesia for hip replacement surgery, called Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) block, is at the center of a study conducted by the Anesthesia and Resuscitation Unit of the Polyclinic Foundation and was the third best scientific contribution published in Anaesthesia , the official magazine of the Association of Anesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland and among the most relevant in this sector.

The study demonstrates how this ultrasound-guided technique, performed in total hip replacement surgery, is able not only to reduce post-operative pain, but also to ensure rapid recovery of joint mobility, a condition which reduces hospital stays, it reduces the risk of adverse events such as thromboembolisms and infections and, last but not least, contains hospital costs. And here is the innovative aspect of this anesthetic technique.
“For some time, in fact, locoregional anesthesia has made it possible to reduce post-operative pain and therefore the consumption of opioid analgesics, responsible for various side effects - explains Dr. Giuseppe Pascarella, first signature of the study - However, by acting on the pain of the area subjected to surgery, in the following hours it can lead to a motor block of the adjacent muscles.
A situation which, precisely because it does not allow the patient to start rehabilitation early, can compromise the speed of recovery of muscle mobility, considered fundamental by modern orthopedic surgery.
The PENG block, on the other hand, by acting on exclusively sensory nerve branches, leads to an improvement in postoperative pain without compromising the functionality of the muscles".

The results obtained are the result of daily collaborative work with the Orthopedics and Traumatology Unit which every year carries out approximately one thousand hip prosthesis operations, making use of the most modern surgical techniques.

The study – a clinical trial conducted on 60 patients – was presented in Liège as part of the “Update in Total Hip Surgery” symposium, organized by the Society of Locoregional Anesthesia of Belgium (BARA).