Femoral vs sciatic nerve block to provide analgesia after medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy in the setting of multimodal analgesia: A randomized, controlled, single-blinded trial

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOW HTO) is associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain. The proximal part of the tibia is innervated by branches from the femoral nerve anteriorly and the sciatic nerve posteriorly. There is a paucity of information regarding the optimal peripheral nerve block for postoperative analgesia with minimal impact on motor function. This study tested the hypothesis that a femoral nerve block provides superior analgesia to a sciatic nerve block after MOW HTO in the setting of multimodal analgesia. DESIGN: Randomized controlled single-blind trial. SETTING: Operating room, postoperative recovery area and ward, up to 6 postoperative months. PATIENTS: Fifty patients undergoing MOW HTO. INTERVENTIONS: Interventions were femoral or sciatic nerve block under ultrasound guidance. For each intervention, a total of 100 mg of ropivacaine was injected. Postoperative pain treatment followed a pre-defined protocol with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia of morphine, paracetamol, and ibuprofen. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was intravenous morphine consumption at 24 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included rest and dynamic pain scores (on a numeric rating scale out of 10) at 2, 24 and 48 h postoperatively. Functional outcomes included the Short Form-12, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores measured at 6 months postoperatively. MAIN RESULTS: Mean [95% confidence interval] i.v. morphine consumption at 24 postoperative hours were 24 mg [15 mg,33 mg] in the femoral nerve block group and 24 mg [16 mg,32 mg] in the sciatic nerve block group (p = 0.98). There were no significant differences in the secondary outcomes between groups. CONCLUSIONS: This trial failed to demonstrate that a femoral nerve block provides superior analgesia to a sciatic nerve block after MOW HTO under general anesthesia in the setting of multimodal analgesia. There was no significant difference in quality of life and functional outcomes at 6 months postoperatively between groups. Trial registry number:Clinicaltrials.com - NCT05728294; Kofam.ch - SNCTP000003048 | BASEC2018-01774.