Fascial plane blocks for cardiothoracic surgery: a narrative review.

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the limitations and risks associated with the overreliance on opioids in various surgical procedures, including cardiothoracic surgery.This shift on pain management toward reducing reliance on opioids, together with need to improve patient outcomes, alleviate suffering, gain early mobilization after surgery, reduce hospital stay, and improve patient satisfaction and functional recovery, has led to the development and widespread implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols.In this context, fascial plane blocks are emerging as part of a multimodal analgesic in cardiac surgery and as alternatives to conventional neuraxial blocks for thoracic surgery, and there is a growing body of evidence suggesting their effectiveness and safety in providing pain relief for these procedures. In this review, we discuss the most common fascial plane block techniques used in the field of cardiothoracic surgery, offering a comprehensive overview of regional anesthesia techniques and presenting the latest evidence on the use of chest wall plane blocks specifically in this surgical setting.

Continuous Erector Spinae and Serratus-Intercostal Block With Ketamine-Dexmedetomidine Sedation for Quadrantectomy and Axillary Dissection in a Multimorbid Patient.

Multimorbidity is a clinical presentation that poses an increased risk of perioperative and postoperative complications. Tailored anaesthetic management could potentially minimise the risk of negative outcomes. Peripheral nerve and fasciae blocks are valid strategies for perioperative and postoperative pain management, which avoid complications related to general anaesthesia and reduce the risk of intensive care unit admission as well as the hospital length of stay. We describe the case of a 56-old patient with multimorbidity, including obesity with a BMI of 45.7, unstable angina, predicted difficult airway management and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) scheduled for left mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy, managed with a left continuous thoracic erector spinae plane (ESP) block plus serratus-intercostal plane block (BRanches of Intercostal nerves at the Level of Mid-Axillary line (BRILMA)), and sedation with combined ketamine-dexmedetomidine. Fascial blocks combined with opioid-free anaesthesia (OFA) proved to be effective for the multimorbid patient, ensuring successful perioperative management and a proper recovery after surgery.

A Modified Approach to a Parasternal Block: A Case Report.

The parasternal block is an ultrasound-guided interfascial plane block that provides anesthesia of the medial quadrants of the breast. The original approach provided injections in the fascial plane between the pectoral major and external intercostal muscles. We observed that this technique might limit an adequate diffusion of the injectate due to the anatomical convexity of the ribs, which might hinder fascial hydrodissection. We suggest a modified approach by positioning the tip of the needle on the rib dome to reduce the local anesthetic volume and obtain a more homogeneous and longitudinal spread into the target fascial compartment.

Fascial Plane Blocks Combination for Breast Surgery in Obese Patients With Difficult Airway Management: Insidious or a Valid Alternative.

Obesity poses several challenges for anesthetists. The several comorbidities associated with obesity can result in very complex management, which requires a multimodal and reasoned approach. The possible difficult airways are, certainly, the obstacle that most can put the anesthetist to the test. From this point of view, regional anesthesia (RA) can be a valid alternative to general anesthesia (GA) in selected patients. The possibility of performing an anesthetic block allows the fulfilment of the surgical act. We present the case of a 56-year-old woman, with a BMI of 43. In her medical history, she has obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on home-oxygen therapy without continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. The patient reported probable airway difficulties in previous breast surgery, and the preoperative evaluation highlighted and confirmed the high risk. For this reason, in agreement with the surgeons and the patient, we decided to perform RA. Forty minutes before the start of the surgery, a deep anesthetic ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane (US-SAP; branches of the intercostal nerves in the middle axillary line [BRILMA]) was performed, followed by a right ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane (US-ESP) block. Mild sedation with propofol 1 mg/kg/h was administered and SpO2 always remained above 97% with nasal oxygen at 3 l/min. The surgery was completed in 35 minutes, the patient complained of no pain, and received opioid rescue therapy during the post-operative period. This case presents clinical evidence that RA can help in avoiding some dreadful complications that can occur during GA in obese patients. In any case, the anesthetic management choice must be carefully reasoned, considering the patient's clinical conditions, surgical needs, and, not least, the skills of the anesthetist.

Continuous Wound Infiltration of Local Anesthetics in Postoperative Pain Management: Safety, Efficacy and Current Perspectives.

Local infiltration and continuous infusion of surgical wound with anesthetics are parts of multimodal analgesia for postoperative pain control. The techniques, given the simplicity of execution that does not increase the timing of the intervention and does not require additional technical skills, are applied in several kinds of surgeries. The continuous wound infiltration can be used for days and a variety of continuous delivery methods can be chosen, including patient-controlled analgesia, continuous infusion or intermittent bolus. The purpose of this narrative review is to analyze the literature, in particular by researching the safety, efficacy and current perspectives of continuous wound infiltration for postoperative pain management in different surgical settings. We have identified 203 articles and 95 of these have been taken into consideration: 17 for the lower limb surgery; 7 for the upper limb surgery, 51 for the laparotomy/laparoscopic surgery of the abdominopelvic area, 13 studies regarding breast surgery and 7 for cardiothoracic surgery. The analysis of these studies reveals that the technique has a variable effectiveness based on the type of structure involved: it is better in structures rich in subcutaneous and connective tissue, while the effectiveness is limited in anatomic districts with a greater variability of innervation. However, regardless the heterogeneity of results, a general reduction in pain intensity and in opioid consumption has been observed with continuous wound infiltration: it is an excellent analgesic technique that can be included in the multimodal treatment of postoperative pain or represents a valid alternative when other options are contraindicated.