Combined fascial plane blocks as the sole regional anesthesia technique for breast surgery in high-risk patients

Abstract

The quest for an effective regional anaesthesia technique in breast surgery has always been eluded by its apparent complexity. Various techniques had been described as anaesthetic techniques for breast cancer surgeries. Fascial plane blocks had been used as analgesic techniques for this procedure. We describe a case series of 12 patients who were given a combination of erector spinae plane block (ESP), Pectoralis I (Pecs I) and serratus anterior plane (SAP) block as sole anaesthetic technique with high risk surgical morbidity. Two patients had discomfort during retraction of axillary apex towards the end of surgery, and one patient had discomfort during medial parasternal incision, which needed a single bolus of low dose ketamine injection. Combined fascial plane blocks could be effectively utilized as a sole regional anesthesia modality for breast cancer surgeries with mild sedation.