Ultrasound-Guided Regional Blockade for Lipoma Excision: a New Approach to an Old Technique

50 patients between the ages of 18 and 60 years with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-III, scheduled for superficial subcutaneous lipoma (sized from 5 to 7 cm) excision will be enrolled in prospective comparative randomized clinical study.

Patients will be randomized into two groups: U (n = 25), in whom regional blockade was performed using US-guidance; and C (n = 25), in whom regional block was performed using the traditional method. Patients will be randomly assigned on a one-to-one ratio. Randomization will be performed by means of a computer generated random-numbers table. Group allocation will be concealed in sealed opaque envelopes that will not opened until patient consent had been obtained.

All patients will be pre-medicated with oral diazepam (7.5 mg) 30 min before the procedure, and IV fentanyl (50 ug) will be administered 5 minutes before placement of the block. Before the procedure, an IV access and standard monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG), noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SPO2) will be established.

Primary outcome includes the number of needle attempts (number of skin punctures and needle redirections) needed to complete the block placement. It will be documented by an investigator blinded to the aim of the study. Patient demographics, duration of surgery, patient's ASA physical status and other study outcomes will be documented by independent investigators who were not involved in the block placement procedure and were blinded to the group assignment.