Pilot Study of Liposomal Bupivacaine Redosing in Patients Undergoing Major Gynecologic Procedures: A Quality Improvement Project in Post-operative Pain

The purpose of this research study is to find out which type of TAP block (bupivacaine, liposomal bupivacaine or liposomal bupivacaine with re-dosing at 48-60 hours) improves your pain control and lowers your risk of post-operative common side effects of surgery and narcotic pain medications.

An anesthesiologist participating on this study will describe the TAP block to you during your preoperative interview and will obtain your consent for the block procedure with your anesthesia consent prior to the procedure. TAP blocks are one of the various methods of controlling your pain after surgery. They are typically placed with an anesthetic agent, such as bupivacaine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a longer-acting form of the anesthetic used in this study, liposomal bupivacaine. Although both medications, bupivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine are approved by the FDA, there are only a few trials such as this one, in the United States, comparing the various types of TAP blocks. No studies exist comparing the re-dosing of a TAP block, as we will be doing in this study.

Currently, the standard of care after a gynecologic procedure may or may not include receiving a TAP block. This was a decision typically made, with your consent, at the discretion of an anesthesiologist and your surgeon. As per the standard of care, after surgery, you would be given oral pain medications to control your pain and intravenous pain medications for severe breakthrough pain. Our study will not change your post-operative pain medication schedule or timing. It will only study the effectiveness of the TAP block you get in controlling your pain.

Even though the medicines (bupivacaine or liposomal bupivacaine) used in this study are FDA-approved, the use of these drugs in this study is investigational.