Guidelines for Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia Surgery with No Tourniquet in the Office Setting Using Field Preparation Sterility

Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 Feb 1;151(2):267e-273e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000009850. Epub 2022 Nov 10.

Abstract

Wide-awake local anesthesia surgery with no tourniquet, or WALANT, has become popular in surgery, especially among hand surgeons. With the increasing number of surgeons performing office-based procedures, this article provides guidelines that may be used in the office setting to help transition more traditional hospital operating room-based procedures to the office setting. This article outlines the benefits of performing office-based wide-awake local anesthesia surgery with no tourniquet and provides a step-by-step guide to performing procedures that can be easily incorporated into any hand surgeon's practice successfully and safely.

MeSH terms

  • Anesthesia, Local / methods
  • Hand / surgery
  • Humans
  • Infertility* / surgery
  • Orthopedic Procedures* / methods
  • Tourniquets