Comparing the Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Bupivacaine in Classical and Modified Thoracolumbar Interfascial Plane Block on Postoperative Pain in Patients Undergoing Lumbar Disc Surgeries

Postoperative pain control after spinal surgeries has been a topic of interest for researchers in the past decade. Indeed, poor pain control can not only impact patient satisfaction but also delay rehabilitation and increase healthcare costs.

The thoracolumbar interfascial plane (TLIP) block was defined by Hand et al. for reducing pain following spinal surgery. In this block, the anesthetic drug is administered between the multifidus and longissimus muscles to target the dorsal ramus of the thoracolumbar nerves. The TLIP block was later modified by Ahiskalioglu et al., with the involvement of the administration of a local anesthetic between the longissimus and iliocostalis, which was observed to demonstrate a dermatomal dispersion similar to that by the TLIP block.

Dexmedetomidine is highly specific and highly selective a2-adrenoceptive agonist and it's action is selective to the CNS without the unwanted effect on the CVS that would result from a activation . It has been found that, in many experimental and clinical regional block practices, the addition of dexmedetomidine to the local anesthetic reduces tissue and nerve damage, increases duration of sensory and motor block, and reduces postoperative pain.