Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among females. Modified Radical Mastectomy (MRM) is the principal surgical treatment for breast cancer. The standard mode of anesthesia is general anesthesia, in addition to regional blocks for effective postoperative pain control.
Pain is usually managed by narcotics, which have many side effects, including prolonged sedation, increasing incidence of pain recurrence, respiratory depression, nausea \& vomiting and paralytic ileus. All requiring close monitoring and in some occasions Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Thoracic epidural and paravertebral blocks are the gold standard techniques. However, both techniques may lead to some serious complications including spinal cord injury, pneumothorax, incompatibility with pre-existing anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy and hemodynamic instability.
Recently, multiple regional techniques have been used for postoperative thoracic pain control, including that caused by modified radical mastectomy. Interfascial plane blocks are currently the hot topic in management of postoperative pain. One of these blocks is erector spinae plane block (ESPB). It is an interfacial Para spinal plane block that is simple, safe, effective and associated with fewer complications in comparison to the gold standard techniques.
