Ultrasound-Guided Thoracic Paravertebral Block

Abstract

Thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) is the technique of injecting local anesthetic alongside the thoracic vertebral body close to where the spinal nerves emerge from the intervertebral foramen. This produces unilateral (ipsilateral), segmental, somatic, and sympathetic nerve blockade in multiple contiguous thoracic dermatomes [1, 2], which is effective for managing acute and chronic pain of unilateral origin from the thorax and abdomen [3]. Recently, TPVB has also been used for surgical anesthesia in patients undergoing inguinal herniorrhaphy [4] and breast surgery [5, 6] with improved postoperative outcomes [3].