A Study Comparing Two Methods of Placing an Interscalene Nerve Catheter for Postoperative Pain Control in Patients Who Undergo Open Shoulder Surgery.

This is a randomized, double-blinded, prospective study designed to compare two approaches (in the plane of the ultrasound beam and out of the plane of the ultrasound beam) to placing an interscalene nerve block and catheter for pain control after open shoulder surgery. Both approaches have been used successfully but neither has been proven to be superior. Our endpoints are pain scores, time for block placement, and catheter dislodgements. We hypothesized that patients with the out-of-plane approach would have decreased pain and fewer catheter dislodgements.