Anterior Suprascapular Nerve Block is as Effective as Interscalene Nerve Block and Causes Less Diapragm Paralysis in Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

Interscalene block is still the gold standard in shoulder surgery analgesia. The most important side effect is diaphragm paralysis due to the phrenic nerve being affected. It may cause symptomatic dyspnea, especially in patients with limited respiratory capacity. More distal brachial plexus blocks have been defined to avoid diaphragmatic paralysis . Thus, it is aimed to apply the local anesthetic drug further from the phrenic nerve. With the application of ultrasound, the amount of local anesthetic drug was reduced to less than 20 ml.

There are studies showing that an effective analgesia, as much as the interscalene block can do, can be provided by blocking the suprascapular nerve in the neck region. Although it has been shown in a cadaver study that the phrenic nerve can be stained after anterior suprascapular nerve block, the clinical effect is not fully known.

The effect of continuous local anesthetic drug administration on respiratory muscles through catheters placed in the peripheral nerve is another matter of concern. The method that will not affect the phrenic nerve at all and at the same time provide an effective analgesia is still under investigation.

The aim of our study is to show that the anterior suprascapular block applied with ultra-low volume (5ml) in shoulder arthroscopy operations is at least as effective as the interscalene block and does not cause diaphragm paralysis. One of the questions that our research aims to answer is how the continuous application of local anesthetic drugs affects the diaphragm muscle with the insertion of catheters in both regions.