Ultrasound-Guided Suprainguinal Fascia Iliaca Block Versus Lumbar Erector Spinae Plane Block for Oncologic Thigh Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Pain is one of the most common and significant postoperative events experienced by many surgical patients. Orthopedic surgery is a relatively painful surgery due to the significant amount of bone and soft tissue resection, damage, and reconstruction. After thigh surgery for sarcomas, the patient may experience any of three distinct types of pain, including acute postoperative pain, persistent long-term nociceptive pain, and neuropathic pain related to intraoperative nerve injuries. The management of pain in limb sparing surgery patients and amputated patients is crucial during the rehabilitation program and often its approach is multidisciplinary. The ultrasound-guided supra-inguinal fascia iliaca block further built on earlier anatomic discoveries to more reliably anesthetize the three nerves: femoral, lateral femoral cutaneous, and obturator. The supra-inguinal fascia iliaca block has evolved as an effective means of providing analgesia to the thigh, the knee, and, most notably, the hip. Ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is an interfascial plane block reported in the treatment of postoperative pain from surgical procedures, ranging from shoulder to hip surgery. When performed at the lumbar 4th vertebral level, ESPB led to sensorial blockage between Th12 and L4 dermatomes lead to effective postoperative analgesia in hip and proximal femoral surgery. Although supra-inguinal fascia iliaca block and L-ESPB successfully reduced postoperative opioid consumption in previous study, no study has ever compared their efficacy in postoperative analgesia of adult patients undergoing oncologic thigh surgery under general anesthesia. Thus, in this randomized comparative study we are aiming to fill this gape in the literature.