Post-operative analgesia following femoral-neck surgery--a comparison between 3 in 1 femoral nerve block and lateral cutaneous nerve block.

A prospective controlled randomized trial on patients receiving surgery for fractured neck of femur was carried out, in which post-operative analgesic requirements in three separate groups were compared. Patients in Group 1 acted as controls, whilst those in Groups 2 and 3 received lateral cutaneous nerve blocks and 3 in 1 femoral nerve blocks, respectively. Patients in Group 3 needed significantly less analgesia than the other two groups, and the time to first administration of analgesia was significantly longer. No complications of either of the nerve blocks was noted.