# Dual Brachial Plexus Block for Distal Biceps Repair: A Case Report

**Authors:** Hannah R Popper, Joseph Massaglia, Armen Voskeridjian, Michael Rivlin

PMC · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.94063 · Cureus · 2025-10-07

## TL;DR

A 35-year-old man with a biceps tear underwent successful surgery using a dual nerve block instead of general anesthesia.

## Contribution

This case report demonstrates the successful use of a dual brachial plexus block for distal biceps repair.

## Key findings

- A dual brachial plexus block provided adequate anesthesia for distal biceps repair.
- The block combination included interscalene and supraclavicular nerve blocks under ultrasound guidance.
- This approach may reduce risks for patients with comorbidities who face higher general anesthesia risks.

## Abstract

A 35-year-old male presented with a right distal biceps tear. The patient was scheduled for a distal biceps repair at an ambulatory surgical center. Given the patient’s body mass index of 56.68 kg/m2, the surgery center’s anesthesiologist recommended the use of a dual brachial plexus regional nerve block to avoid general anesthesia. While the use of dual brachial plexus blocks has been shown to be successful for shoulder procedures, their use in the distal humerus and elbow regions has not been fully established. Under ultrasound guidance, a combination of interscalene and supraclavicular nerve blocks was used as the sole anesthesia in addition to the use of midazolam for light sedation for the length of the procedure. The use of the dual block provided adequate biceps relaxation and anesthesia for a successful distal biceps repair using suture anchor repair. Dual regional blocks may be considered for patients, especially those with multiple comorbidities for whom general anesthesia poses an increased risk of complications, such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and intraoperative bleeding.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** bleeding (MESH:D006470), pulmonary embolism (MESH:D011655), biceps tear (MESH:D012021), deep vein thrombosis (MESH:D020246)
- **Chemicals:** midazolam (MESH:D008874)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

16 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12591774/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12591774