Pudendal Anesthesia

Pudendal anesthesia, also called a pudendal nerve block, pudendal block or saddle block, is a form of local anesthesia that can be used both to diagnose and to treat illness. It takes its name from the pudendal nerve, which branches off the sacral plexus and carries both sensory and motor function, providing sensation to the anal canal, the external anal sphincter and the perineum; the block is performed by injecting a local anesthetic, such as lidocaine or chloroprocaine, into the pudendal canal where the nerve is located. As a nerve block, it can help confirm which nerve is causing a patient's pain to support a diagnosis, prevent pain before a procedure, or relieve chronic pain.