The Incidence of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After Fasciectomy for Dupuytren’s Contracture: A Prospective Observational Study of Four Anesthetic Techniques

The development of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is not an uncommon complication after Du-puytren’s surgery. Despite increasing research interest, little is known regarding which patients are at increased risk for developingCRPS andwhat is the optimal periop-erative treatment strategy for preventing the occurrence of this disease after surgery. We prospectively evaluated the use of four anesthetic techniques (general anesthesia, axillary block, and IV regional anesthesia [IVRA] with li-docaine with or without clonidine) for patients undergo-ing fasciectomy for Dupuytren’s contracture. All patients were followed in thePainManagementCenter at 1, 3, and 12mo postoperatively by a blinded physician to evaluate the presence of CRPS. Significantly (P 0.01) more pa-tients developed postoperative CRPS in the general anes