Breast surgeries belong to the most frequently performed procedures and are often associated with a high intensity of pain in the postoperative period.
Regional anesthesia techniques, have been the gold standard of postoperative pain management for breast surgeries. In recent years, the development of new techniques of regional anesthesia, which is due to the extensive implementation of ultrasound imaging, has enabled the use of a number of new blockades.The core mechanism of action in fascial blocks consists of blocking the nerve structures that supply a certain area of the trunk after deposition of local anesthetic within the fascial and fasciomuscular compartments. According to the current state of knowledge, the available options include Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) and Serratus anterior plane block (SAPB), however their recommendation in breast surgery requires more extensive scientific evidence.
Serratus anterior plane block acts on lateral branches of the intercostals nerves, blocking pain reception in the chest wall, while Erector spinae plane block involves the deposition of local anesthetic in the interfascial plane between erector spinae muscle and tips of the transverse processes of the vertebrae.
There is a scarcity of literature comparing ESPB and SAPB in patients undergoing breast surgeries.
Proponents of these techniques champion their ability to provide efficacious analgesia and anesthesia whereas critics cite a reportedly high failure rate and complications such as pneumothorax.
The German S3-guidelines suggest Lung Ultrasound as a possible alternative to Chest X-ray for the diagnosis of post-interventional pneumothorax.
Dexamedetomidine is a highly selective drug α2-adrenergic receptor agonist. Dexmedetomidine has the characteristics of sedation, analgesia, anti-anxiety, inhibition of sympathetic activity, mild respiratory inhibition, and stable hemodynamics. Numerous studies has revealed that dexmedetomidine in peripheral nerve blocks can shorten the onset time of anesthesia and prolong the time of sensory and motor nerve blocks.
