Erector spinae plane block: A safe, simple and effective alternative for knee surgery

Abstract

Neuraxial anaesthesia techniques are routinely used to manage postoperative pain in patients undergoing lower limb orthopaedic surgery. However, neuraxial anaesthesia is contraindicated in patients with a deformed spine or coagulopathy. Researchers recently described the erector spinae plane block—a safe, easy and effective interfascial plane block for managing chronic thoracic pain. Since then, it has been used for providing analgesia in thoracic, abdominal and hip surgery. We report its analgesic use in two patients undergoing knee surgery: one with lumbar scoliosis undergoing above knee amputation, and the other with haemophilia undergoing bilateral knee arthroplasty.