Does regional anaesthesia cause nerve damage?

So a lot of people ask me whether regional anaesthesia causes nerve damage and the honest answer is it can do but the chances of it doing that are very very very rare indeed. When we do nerve blocks for the arm or for the leg we don't do it blind we do it with a device called an ultrasound machine which actually shows us the nerves and shows us the needle and the chances of us damaging a nerve with a needle is one in thousands. It is an incredibly safe way to do it. In fact there's evidence that the chance of nerve damage during general anaesthesia is greater than during regional anaesthesia. The reasons we look for this we're not fully clear of but please be assured that the chances of nerve damage are low. If you had to quote a number if you're having a spine or an epidural the chances of permanent nerve damage would be one in tens of thousands to one in hundreds of thousands. If we were doing a nerve blocks on your arms or on your leg the chances of nerve damage would be one in thousands to one in ten thousands. It is very very small indeed. You will worry, a lot of people will worry about it, a lot of people are worried about, a lot of people worry because it seems when you're having an injection in your back that it's bound to happen but please be assured the chances are very low the anaesthetist or other healthcare professional who talks to you about your anaesthetic will go through the exact figures for you, the exact figures that are being performed but they are rare complications of regional anaesthesia.