Randomised Controlled Double Blinded Trial Analyzing Impact of Serratus Intercostal Plane Block in Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery on Postoperative Pain and Recovery.

Rationale Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) is known to be a moderate painful procedure. There are many ways to manage postoperative pain following this kind of surgery. One of the 'golden standards' nowadays is epidural analgesia using Patient Controlled Epidural Analgesia (PCEA). Patient Controlled Intravenous Analgesia (PCIA) is also an option, as are several kinds of regional anesthesia. One of the most recent described regional blocks is the Serratus Anterior Plane block (SAP), also called Serratus Intercostal Plane (SIP) block.

Objectives The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and opioid sparing effect of a SIP block in postoperative pain relief after VATS.

Hypotheses Patients receiving a SIP block prior to surgery need less opioids during and 24h after VATS compared with patients who didn't receive a SIP block.

Study design Single center randomized controlled trial Study population Patients older than 18 years old scheduled for VATS. Main study parameters/endpoints The primary endpoint is the opioid use during the first 24 hours after start of surgery. Secondary endpoints are the VAS score on day 0 and day 1 after surgery, and the prevalence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV).

Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness In the intra-operative period, patients will not experience discomfort from either strategy because of general anesthesia. If the hypothesis proves to be true, patients with SIP block could benefit from a lower amount of received opioids, which could give less chance of opioid associated adverse effects. There won't be any additional blood sampling related to this study.