Suprazygomatic Maxillary Nerve Block Effect on Systemic Inflammatory Response in Cleft Palate Surgeries

Cleft lip and palate are some of the most common craniofacial malformations, with an incidence ranging between 0.1 and 1.1 per 1000 births. Early surgical intervention for cleft palate (CP) repair is essential for proper feeding and phonation as well as reduction of complications such as frequent sinusitis and other respiratory tract infections. Surgical injury stimulates the systemic inflammatory response. The neuroendocrine response leads to stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system resulting in tachycardia, hypertension and activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis. This induces the release of hormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), catechol-amines (norepinephrine and epinephrine) and cortisol and increase in white cell count which is proposed to have a detrimental effect on the postoperative immunity. Furthermore, the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukins (IL) e.g.IL-1, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) by innate immune cells such as neutrophils and macrophages, interacting with damaged cells and platelets, leads to the production of acute phase proteins from the liver such as C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and complement proteins. Regional blocks provide good pre-emptive analgesia when given in combination with general anaesthesia (GA). It is associated with hemodynamic stability, rapid recovery, reduction of supplemental analgesia consumption in addition to favourable effect on systematic inflammatory response. Using bilateral suprazygomatic approach of maxillary nerve block during CP repair is hypothesized to provide such mentioned settlement of a regional block.