The modified thoracoabdominal nerve block for post-operative analgesia in paediatric laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Abstract

The limited data on post-operative analgesia management after laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the paediatric population make it difficult for clinicians to manage pain in this group. Administration of a modified thoracoabdominal nerve block through a perichondrial approach (M-TAPA) has recently been identified as a technique providing effective analgesia on the anterior and lateral thoracoabdominal wall. Unlike thoracoabdominal nerve block through the perichondrial approach block, the local anaesthetic (LA) with M-TAPA block provides effective post-operative analgesia in abdominal surgery by affecting T5-T12 dermatomes, just like when applied to the lower part of the perichondrium. As far as we know, all patients in previous case reports were adults, and we did not come across any study on the effectiveness of M-TAPA in paediatric patients. We present our case who did not need any additional analgesic during the post-operative 24 h after an M-TAPA block was administered before paediatric laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Keywords

• cholecystectomy
• laparoscopic surgery
• modified thoracoabdominal nerve block through a perichondrial approach block
• paediatric