Successful postoperative pain management by a surgeon-assisted interfascial plane block under vision in patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy: A case series

Abstract

As anatomical structures get exposed intraoperatively, we present a case series of 18 patients of the surgeon-assisted interfascial plane block with local anesthetic infiltration between pectoralis minor and serratus anterior (SA) and between SA and latissimus dorsi for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy. Surgeons infiltrated 25 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine with dexmedetomidine (0.5 μg/kg) in the above-mentioned plane after the completion of axillary dissection and the removal of axillary content en bloc with the breast. The median pain score was assessed by numeric rating scale for pain. This score was <3 with no requirement of rescue analgesia in the first 24 h postoperatively. Intraoperative hemodynamic parameters were stable, and there was no adverse event. Hence, surgeon-assisted interfascial plane block under vision can be a feasible option for providing adequate postoperative analgesia.

Keywords

• analgesia
• infiltration
• local anesthetics
• modified radical mastectomy