title: Serratus Anterior Plane (SAP) Block Used for Thoracotomy Analgesia: A Case Report.
abstract: Thoracotomy is a surgical technique used to reach the thoracic cavity. Management of pain due to thoracotomy is important in order to protect the operative respiratory reserves and decrease complications. For thoracotomy pain, blocks (such as thoracic epidural, paravertebral, etc.) and pleural catheterization and intravenous drugs (such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], and opioids, etc., can be used. We performed a serratus anterior plane (SAP) block followed by catheterization for thoracotomy pain. We used 20 ml 0.25% bupivacaine for analgesia in a patient who underwent wedge resection for a lung malignancy. We provided analgesia for a period of close to seven hours for the patient, whose postoperative VAS (visual analog scale) scores were recorded. We believe that an SAP block is effective and efficient for the management of pain after thoracotomy.
authors.affiliation: AİBÜ İzzet Baysal Education and Research Hospital, Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Korgün
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okmen
authors.affiliation: AİBÜ İzzet Baysal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burcu Metin
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Okmen
authors.affiliation: AİBÜ İzzet Baysal Education and Research Hospital, Thoracic Surgery, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uysal
keywords: Analgesia; Bupivacaine; Nerve block; Pain; Serratus anterior plane block; Thoracotomy; Ultrasonography