Abstract

Aim: Breast cancer incidence continues to rise, leading to increased demand for surgical interventions. Postoperative analgesia following breast operations remains an area requiring optimization. The erector spinae plane block (ESP) represents a newer regional technique that may provide advantages over alternative methods. In breast cancer surgeries, We investigated whether unilateral ESP blockade before surgery affected opioid consumption during surgery and improved postoperative pain management and patient satisfaction.
Materials and Methods: The study was prospectively randomized and controlled. One hundred women scheduled for unilateral breast cancer surgery were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to either the ESP block group (Group I, n=50) or the standard care group without block (Group II, n=50). The primary outcome was perioperative opioid consumption. Secondary outcomes included postoperative narcotic consumption, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain ratings, urgent analgesic requirements, and patient satisfaction.
Results: Intraoperative opioid consumption was lower in Group I; postoperative pain scores, opioid consumption, and patient satisfaction scores were better compared to Group II.
Conclusion: ESP block, a recently developed regional analgesia approach, improved postoperative pain outcomes and enhanced patient satisfaction following breast cancer surgery.

Key words: Erector spinae plane block, patient satisfaction, breast surgery, postoperative analgesia