The ability to induce regional total anesthesia with a safe intravenous agent would represent an advance in the management of many problems concerning the extremities. Intravenous anesthesia with local agents has been recognized since the original work of Bier1 in 1908, but in spite of occasional reports in the literature it has not received general acceptance as a useful form of anesthesia. A recent article by Holmes2 has further attested its clinical usefulness. This report describes a method of producing regional total anesthesia by the intravenous use of lidocaine.