Comparison Paravertebral and Serratus Anterior Plane Block in Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery.

Summary

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a minimally invasive alternative to thoracotomy that emerged in the early 1990s, aiming to reduce surgical stress and postoperative pain. While VATS generally results in less pain than thoracotomy, patients may still experience significant discomfort. Effective pain control remains crucial in VATS to minimize postoperative complications, especially pulmonary and cardiac events, which can arise from inadequate ventilation and impaired sputum clearance due to pain. Various strategies have been developed to manage postoperative pain, with multimodal approaches-combining regional or peripheral blocks with systemic analgesics such as NSAIDs and adjuvants-now considered standard. Among regional techniques, serratus anterior plane (SAP) block and thoracic paravertebral block (PVB) are commonly used. SAP block targets the thoracodorsal, long thoracic, and T2-T9 spinal nerves between the latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior muscles, providing effective anterolateral chest wall analgesia. PVB targets intercostal nerves within the paravertebral space and has shown superior pain control and improved lung function compared to systemic opioids or intrapleural local anesthetics. At our center, both SAP and PVB are routinely used for postoperative analgesia in VATS procedures for patients with lung masses. Pain levels will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a reliable tool for evaluating both acute and chronic pain, unaffected by age or gender. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of SAP and PVB blocks in terms of postoperative pain, opioid requirements, and block-related complications in patients undergoing VATS under general anesthesia. The research is observational and will not alter routine clinical practices.

Timeline

Start

2024-12-01

Primary completion

2025-12-01

Completion

2026-01-01

Publications

• Background Bijur PE, Silver W, Gallagher EJ. Reliability of the visual analog scale for measurement of acute pain. Acad Emerg Med. 2001 Dec;8(12):1153-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2001.tb01132.x.
• Background Gagliese L, Katz J. Age differences in postoperative pain are scale dependent: a comparison of measures of pain intensity and quality in younger and older surgical patients. Pain. 2003 May;103(1-2):11-20. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3959(02)00327-5.
• Background Sihoe ADL. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery as the gold standard for lung cancer surgery. Respirology. 2020 Nov;25 Suppl 2:49-60. doi: 10.1111/resp.13920. Epub 2020 Jul 30.
• Background Feray S, Lubach J, Joshi GP, Bonnet F, Van de Velde M; PROSPECT Working Group *of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy. PROSPECT guidelines for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a systematic review and procedure-specific postoperative pain management recommendations. Anaesthesia. 2022 Mar;77(3):311-325. doi: 10.1111/anae.15609. Epub 2021 Nov 5.

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