Regional anaesthesia.

Sciatic nerve block is frequently used for anaesthesia or analgesia during orthopaedic foot surgery and there are several different approaches to the sciatic nerve. This report describes a new approach to the sciatic nerve using ultrasound. Local anesthetic was injected into the ‘subgluteal space’ under ultrasound guidance which was effective in producing sciatic nerve block in a small series of five patients. The anatomy, sonographic features, technique of identifying the subgluteal space, and potential advantages of this approach to the sciatic nerve are discussed.