Wide-awake Hand and Wrist Surgery: A New Horizon in Outpatient Surgery

Abstract

There has been increased interest in and experience with performing several surgical procedures on the hand and the wrist utilizing local anesthesia in an unsedated patient. These surgical procedures can be safely performed on an outpatient basis. Experience has shown that the strategic use of local anesthesia with epinephrine is safe and, in procedures such as tendon repair or transfer, permits intraoperative control of overall motion and function.