Perioperative interscalene blockade: an overview of its history and current clinical use.

Use of single-dose and continuous interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) are gaining widespread popularity. When compared with general anesthesia, ISB has been reported to provide superior postoperative analgesia with fewer side effects, and it is associated with greater patient satisfaction. Anatomical landmarks are readily identifiable, which contributes to the ease of performing this block. In the future, we anticipate increased use of continuous interscalene catheters or injection of biodegradable local anesthetic impregnated microspheres to provide prolonged perioperative outpatient analgesia. Copyright 2002 by Elsevier Science Inc.