Laparoscopic transversus abdominis plane block is useful in pain relief after laparoscopic stapled repair of diastasis recti and ventral hernia

BACKGROUND: There is still no consensus on perioperative pain control techniques in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery; protocols of conventional therapy can be improved by the use of perioperative anaesthesiologic techniques, such as epidural or loco-regional analgesic administration as transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block. The aim of this evaluation was to investigate the role of laparoscopic-assisted TAP block during repair of diastasis recti associated with primary midline hernias in term of post-operative pain relief. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective evaluation of a prospectively maintained database including patients undergoing laparoscopic repair of diastasis recti associated with primary ventral hernia. Patients were divided into two groups: Group A patients (n = 34) received laparoscopic-assisted bilateral TAP-block of 7.5 mg/ml ropivacaine for each side and Group B patients (n = 29) received conventional post-operative therapy. All patients received 24 h infusion of 20 mg morphine; pain was checked at 6, 24 and 48 h after surgery by numeric rating scale (NRS) score. A rescue analgesia by was given if NRS score was >4 or on patient request. RESULTS: No differences in operative time, complications and post-operative stay, no complications related to TAP-block technique were found. Post-operative pain scores (determined by NRS) were found to be significantly different between groups. Group A patients showed a significant reduction in NRS score at 6, 24 and 48 h (P < 0.005) and in the number of patients requiring further analgesic drugs administration (P < 0.005) compared to Group B patients. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic-guided TAP-block can be considered safe and effective in the management of post-operative pain and in the reduction of analgesic need in patients undergoing laparoscopic repair of diastasis recti and ventral hernias. The non-randomised nature of the study and the lack of a consistent series of patients require further evaluations.