Bilateral Erector Spina Block Versus Parasternal Block in Adult Heart Surgery

Inadequate pain relief after cardiac surgery increases morbidity and results in a high incidence of persistent poststernotomy pain syndrome. The use of special opioid-based analgesia causes adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, sedation, urinary retention, respiratory depression and delayed tracheal extubation. Regional anesthesia techniques such as pectoralis nerve block and serratus anterior block provide analgesia in the sternum and pain relief in the lateral / posterior chest Wall. Erector spinae (ESP) block, a new and simple myofascial block, provides wide multi-dermatomal sensory block. In the T5 spinous process, bilateral ESP block provides analgesia from T2 to T9 sensory level, resulting in both somatic and visceral analgesia by blocking both the dorsal and ventral of the spinal nerves, including the sympathetic chain. This block may provide adequate analgesia for median sternotomy because the main nerve supply to the sternal region is from T2 to T6. Median sternotomy incision and mediastinal tube regions are the major source of pain in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The anterior and posterior branches of the intercostal nerves give nerves to the sternum. Parasternal local anesthetic infiltration around the sternum is effective in providing early postoperative analgesia and reducing opioid requirements and therefore has positive effects on healing. This simple and fast technique can be used even for anticoagulated patients.