Comparison of Postoperative Pain in 70 Women with Breast Cancer Following General Anesthesia for Mastectomy with and without Serratus Anterior Plane Nerve Block

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted at a single center and aimed to compare postoperative pain in 70 women with breast cancer following general anesthesia for mastectomy with and without serratus anterior plane (SAP) block. MATERIAL/METHODS: A total of 70 breast cancer patients who met the criteria were randomly divided into the general anesthesia combined with SAP block group (group S) and the general anesthesia only group (group G). Perioperative anesthetic drug dosage, the visual analog scale (VAS) score at different time points, and the patient’s satisfaction with analgesia 24 h after surgery, and incidence of postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) were statistically analyzed in the 2 groups. RESULTS: Compared with group G, group S had lower intraoperative remifentanil dosages (P=0.003), a lower total amount of sufentanil via analgesia pump during the 24-h postoperative period (P<0.001), and lower VAS scores at 2 h, 4 h, and 8 h after surgery, and the differences were significant (P<0.05). Compared with group G, group S had a shorter first flatus time, got out of bed sooner, had a lower incidence of nausea and vomiting (P<0.05), and lower incidence of PMPS at 3 and 6 months after the operation (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: At a single center, preoperative SAP block can significantly reduce postoperative pain after modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer.