Erector Spinae Plane Block: An Analgesic Technique as an Alternative to Transversus Abdominis Plane Block in Abdominoplasty Surgery

Abstract

Background: Managing post abdominoplasty pain can be quite challenging. Multimodal analgesia strategies have been used to provide maximum benefit with less side effects. Combining regional anaesthetic techniques with multiple non opioid analgesics can provide efficient postoperative analgesia. Objective: This study aimed at comparing the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound guided erector spinae plane block (ESPB) and ultrasound guided transversus abdominis plane block (TAPB) in abdominoplasty surgery when given as a part of multimodal analgesic strategy. Patients and methods: A total of 69 females ASA I & II physical status patients aged between 25 and 65 years who were scheduled for abdominoplasty surgery under general anaesthesia were included in this study. Patients were allocated to three groups; Control group received only standard general anaesthesia, TAPB group received standard general anaesthesia in addition to TAPB, while ESPB group received standard general anaesthesia and ESPB. We recorded total opioid consumption, time of first analgesic request, visual analogue score and hemodynamic changes in first 24h postoperatively. Results: ESPB and TAPB reduced postoperative opioid consumption and prolonged time till analgesic request than the control group. ESPB prolonged duration of analgesia and reduced postoperative heart rate, while TAPB block was relatively easier and less time consuming. Conclusion: ESPB and TAPB can provide considerable postoperative analgesia following abdominoplasty surgery when being incorporated in a multimodal analgesia regimen. Therefore, we recommend using either technique to lessen pain in patients subjected to abdominoplasty surgery.