Single-needle celiac plexus block for pain management in a case of liver hemangioma

Abstract

Pain is the most common reason for presentation of a patient to a physician suffering from upper abdominal pathologies such as pancreatitis, benign tumors, or malignancies of liver/gall bladder/stomach/colon. Inflammation, scarring, and increased pancreatic duct pressure or malignant invasion of celiac plexus are the major causes of pain. A comprehensive evaluation of the patient for pain, associated pathological problem, and to find out any surgical indication is necessary. We present a 55-year-old female patient diagnosed of liver hemangioma with right upper abdominal pain. Treatment options of embolization under radiological guidance and/or surgical resection–enucleation were not acceptable and affordable to the patient. The patient was then referred for upper right intra-abdominal pain management. Following informed consent and vital monitoring inside the operation theater, the patient was given prone position. Under aseptic precautions and fluoroscopy guidance, diagnostic celiac plexus block was given on the right side with 5 ml of 2% lignocaine with adrenaline + 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine + fentanyl 25 μg at the level of L1 body of vertebra, which resulted in 80% of relief in pain for 18 h. Later, this was followed by neurolytic block using 15 ml of 8% phenol after injection of 10 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine to confirm the effective pain relief. Numerical Rating Scale score decreased from 7 to 2 at 1 week. Seventy-five percent of pain relief was present at the 6th month of follow-up. There was significant improvement in quality of life and sleep. Single-needle technique of celiac plexus block is a useful method for the control of chronic upper abdominal pain due to liver pathology.

Keywords

• celiac plexus block
• chronic pain
• liver hemangioma