Perioperative analgesia during thymectomy via median sternotomy : Ultrasound-guided bilateral parasternal block.

ABSTRACT

Thymectomy is sometimes carried out via median sternotomy; however, patients undergoing thymectomy via median sternotomy may experience severe postoperative pain. In this study, an ultrasound-guided regional anesthetic technique called a parasternal block, which can be used to relieve postoperative surgical pain after thymectomy via median sternotomy by blocking the medial nerve branch of the anterior cutaneous branch is presented. In this patient bilateral parasternal blocks provided long-lasting analgesia (18 h) with no side effects. While these are preliminary findings, further confirmatory clinical trials will be conducted. In summary, ultrasound-guided bilateral parasternal block appears to be a safe, simple, effective and minimally invasive technique for surgery via median sternotomy.