Abstract:
Cervical plexus has a complex anatomy and is considered as a plexus of loops. It is often described as deep and superficial cervical plexus. The deep plexus provides the muscular branches and the superficial plexus provides the innervation of the skin of the head and neck. Ultrasound guided blocks for cervical plexus are fairly new entrant and are easier to understand with knowledge of the landmark techniques that are briefly described in this article. The superficial and intermediate plexus blocks are fairly easy to perform. The deep plexus block is described in various forms, from extension of brachial plexus block, injection around the carotid and lastly the classical deep cervical plexus block. The C4 transverse process is the key to performing the deep plexus block and in this article we, for the first time, describe the "thumbs up" sign that helps to easily identify C4 level and perform this block. The article also describes the complications that can be expected with these blocks and how they can be avoided.
Page(s):
323-332
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Anaesthesia, Pain and Intensive Care, Volume: 19, Issue: 3, Year: 2015