3. Results
fracture, medial malleolar pain, pain
GROUP B
All 60 enrolled patients completed the study. Patient characteristics were similar between the two groups. Group A included 20 men, and Group B comprised 19 men. The fracture types in both groups are shown in The anesthesia procedure and operation times were similar between the groups. It took an average of 14.4 and 13.4 min to perform the skin incision in groups A and B, respectively. The incision was delayed by approximately 5 min if there was insufficient anesthesia. In three group A and two group B patients, 1% lidocaine (5 mL) was locally injected into the surgical site at the start of the operation due to medial malleolar pain. The average time between the groups from anesthesia initiation to surgery completion was similar. After surgery, the surgeon confirmed that all patients’ ankles and lower extremities were completely paralyzed. Analgesia duration and the time of recovery of motor function after surgery differed significantly between the groups. In group A, the analgesia time was an average of 11.6 h (8–14), and motor function recovery began at an average of 12.0 h (8–15.5). In group B, sensation was restored at 35.8 h (20–42), and movement at 35.6 h (21–41) (At 12, 18, 24, 40, 48, and 60 h after surgery, group B had significantly lower VAS pain scores (