Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block: A Comparative Study between Levobupivacaine versus Levobupivacaine plus Ketamine in Abdominoplasty

PURPOSE: We conducted this study to explore the hypothesis that the addition of ketamine to levobupivacaine in ultrasound-guided Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) block would result in a better and prolonged duration of postoperative analgesia for patients undergoing abdominoplasty. Material and Methods. This randomized prospective study was conducted on 50 patients who were scheduled for abdominoplasty. TAP block was performed bilaterally for all patients either with levobupivacaine 0.5% 15 ml plus ketamine 0.5 mg/kg in a total volume of 20 ml in the LK group (n = 25) or with levobupivacaine 0.5% 15 ml plus 5 ml normal saline in a total volume of 20 ml in the L group on each side. RESULTS: Visual analogue scale (VAS) was significantly lower in the LK group in resting condition at 6, 12, and 16 h postoperatively compared to the L group. On movement, the VAS was significantly lower at 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 24 h postoperatively in the LK group compared to the L group. The time for first rescue analgesia was longer in the LK group (18.7 ± 4.8 h) than that in the L group (6.5 ± 2.4 h) with the reduced total amount of rescue morphine in the LK group (1.14 ± 2.2 mg) versus the L group (5.86 ± 3.6 mg). Only six patients in the LK group requested rescue morphine, whereas nineteen patients requested rescue morphine in the L group. CONCLUSIONS: In TAP block, adding ketamine 0.5 mg/kg enhanced the analgesic efficacy of levobupivacaine 0.5% in patients undergoing abdominoplasty and reduced the required analgesics postoperatively.