Ultrasound Guided External Oblique Intercostal Plane Block vs. Wound Infiltration for Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Prospective Randomized Study

The morbidity and mortality associated with being overweight or obese have been known to the medical profession since Hippocrates, more than 2500 years ago.

Pain that develops following bariatric surgery may prolong recovery time. Most morbidly obese patients have obstructive sleep apnea and cardiac comorbidities. In these patients, prolonged postoperative pain may cause early ambulation and delay performing deep breathing exercises.

Using regional anesthetic techniques results in less opioid use and better pain management. External oblique internal costal block; It is a new block that provides dermatomal sensory blockage involving T6-T10 in the anterior axillary line and T6-T9 in the midline. It can be used as part of multimodal analgesia in laparoscopic cases.

There is no study in the literature regarding the use of external oblique plane block in bariatric surgery yet.