Due to have foot surgery. Tendon over the big toe. Could the injection sites be numb?

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Dr. Grzegorz Stanko
General Surgeon

Practicing since : 2008

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Hi, I am going to having foot surgery soon because I severed a tendon over the big toe and will also put in two pins for support. Can I get a block instead of general or sedation? I hate the way I feel sedated. I understand there are five injections. Can the injection sites be numbed? I don't care if I hear different sounds like a drill or what. The doctor said that the procedure would only take 20 minutes. Thank you for your time.

Posted Thu, 7 Nov 2013 in Bones, Muscles and Joints

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko 14 minutes later

Brief Answer:
No general anesthesia is necessary.

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for the query.

Yes, you can have a block. Generally such procedures are performed in spinal anesthesia (so called Subarachnoid Spinal Block). This gives an ability to deaden one leg (or both) only. This is a standard procedure and no general anesthesia is necessary. For your comfort some sedatives can be injected as an addition to spinal block. You will be sleeping, but the breathing wont be disturbed.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by

Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow-up: Due to have foot surgery. Tendon over the big toe. Could the injection sites be numb? 57 minutes later

Hello, How would the doctor numb one leg? I tried finding more info on this but, I may not be using the right words. Thanks again

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko 16 hours later

Brief Answer:
detailed below

Detailed Answer:
Well, there is an injection in the spine made when you lie on the one side. This causes that the gravity holds injected medicine on the one side.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by

Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar