Fig. 1

Ultrasound images of the implementation of caudal anaesthesia in very low birth weight infants scheduled for open inguinal hernia repair. Caudal anaesthesia was implemented in infants placed in a lateral decubitus position with the left side down. Correct needle placement and distribution of the local anaesthetic was observed in all patients as visible on the ultrasound image and led to a surgically sufficient analgesia. Both pictures show a long axis view of the spinal canal. a Puncture with an Epican®Paed25G was performed in an in-plane technique by means of a SonoSite® M-Turbo with linear probe (5–13 MHz). b The ultrasound picture in in-plane technique demonstrates the spread of the local anaesthetic (ropivacaine 0.375%; 1 ml/kg)