Comparison of Bi-Level Erector Spinae Plane Block (ESPB) and Modified Thoraco Abdominal Plane Block (M-TAPA) in Laparoscopic Abdominal Surgery

Laparoscopy is a surgical technique used for basic diagnosis and treatment. The advantages of laparoscopic techniques compared to open surgery have been demonstrated by studies. With the developing medicine and technology, minimally invasive approaches have been targeted in interventional procedures. In laparoscopic surgeries, access to the abdomen is provided with the help of a trocar and a temporary pneumoperitoneum is created with gas insufflation. Despite all these developments, even when laparoscopic techniques are used, postoperative pain is the most disturbing issue for patients. Postoperative pain can seriously reduce the quality of life in patients and acute pain can even trigger chronic pain syndromes. Epidural analgesia, paravertebral, erector spinae plane, intercostal nerve, transverse abdominis plane, external oblique, modified thoracoabdominal plane, rectus sheath block are used for anesthesia and analgesia during laparoscopic abdominal surgeries (LAS). In recent years, regional nerve blocks, including erector spinae plane block (ESPB) and modified thoraco-abdominal plane block (M-TAPA), have been applied for the treatment of pain in patients undergoing LAS due to various causes. ESPB was first described by Forero et al. in 2016 and has been frequently used for the treatment of acute pain in the postoperative period following abdominal surgeries. ESPB can be applied at any level from cervical to sacral, covering dermatomes appropriate for the surgical area under USG guidance. Cadaver studies for the ESPB mechanism have shown that local anesthetic spreads ipsilaterally and contralaterally and that it has analgesic efficacy both on the side where it is applied and on the opposite side. This peripheral nerve block, which is usually applied at a single level, can also be applied at bi-level. Studies have also shown that when ESPB is applied at bi-level, analgesic efficacy increases due to local anesthetic spread.

M-TAPA is a new peripheral nerve block technique defined by Tulgar et al. It has high analgesic efficacy in thoraco-abdominal surgery. It has been shown to be advantageous in upper umbilical surgeries by involving more dermatomes compared to the transverse abdominis plane block. Lateral and anterior branches of thoraco-abdominal nerves are blocked with M-TAPA. It provides analgesia in a wide area between T5 and T12 and can also be applied for LAS. In our clinic, Bi-level ESPB or M-TAPA is routinely applied to suitable patients after anesthesia induction, and intraoperative anesthesia is maintained with inhalation and intravenous anesthetic agents. Multimodal analgesia management has been adopted as postoperative analgesia management.