External oblique muscle plane blocks in combination with modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach for analgesia in abdominal surgery: A case report

The costal and lateral external oblique muscle plane (EXOP) blocks anesthetize the lateral cutaneous branches, whereas the modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach (M-TAPA) anesthetizes the anterior branches of the thoracoabdominal nerves. Herein, we report two cases of successful perioperative pain management with the combination of these blocks: case 1 was a 67-year-old man who underwent open cholecystectomy and case 2 was a 38-year-old woman who underwent emergency laparoscopic surgery for strangulation ileus. Both patients were administered the costal and/or lateral EXOP blocks along with bilateral M-TAPA for perioperative analgesia. A pin-prick test performed 1 h after surgery revealed that the cutaneous sensory block covered all areas of the abdominal surgical field. Combined use of these blocks can be a new local analgesic strategy for abdominal surgery.