Subcutaneous Ring Block and Dorsal Penile Nerve Block Effectiveness in Male Circumcision: a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Our aim was to compare the effectiveness and postoperative implications of two regional anesthesia techniques, namely the subcutaneous ring block (SRB) and the dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB), when applied during routine circumcision in children. Patients and methods: This comparative retrospective study was conducted between the years 2021 and 2022. The subjects were patients who underwent circumcision during this period. The techniques compared were the subcutaneous ring block (SRB) (group 1) and the deep dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) (group 2). Results: We observed that neither group had any instances of comorbidity or infection, rendering these factors statistically identical between the two groups (p=1.000 in both cases). Group 1 showed edema in 4 patients (21.2%) while it was reported in 12 patients (63.2%) in Group 2 (p =0.009). Similarly, bleeding was observed in 4 patients (21.2%) in group 1, but there were no instances of bleeding in group 2 (p =0.034). In terms of postoperative pain, group 1 had a higher average pain score (6.02 +/- 1.33) compared to Group: 2 (4.68 +/- 3.12) (p =0.040). In Group 1, 18 patients (94.7%) required postoperative analgesia, whereas in Group 2, only 3 patients (15.8%) needed it (p <0.001). Conclusions: Our comparative analysis demonstrates that the deep dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) was associated with fewer postoperative complications, lower pain scores, and less need for postoperative analgesia than the subcutaneous ring block (SRB) in pediatric circumcision