Ultrasound-Guided Anterior and Posterior Quadratus Lumborum Block for Analgesia After Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Abstract

Aim: Laparoscopic procedures are now preferred over open surgeries, and total laparoscopic hysterectomy is becoming increasingly popular. Quadratus lumborum (QL) block is an evolving technique for abdominal surgeries that blocks T5–L1 nerve branches. Methods: We used a combination of anterior and posterior QL block given bilaterally in two patients and evaluated perioperative opioid consumption, postoperative pain score and patient satisfaction. Results: There was reduced perioperative opioid consumption along with postoperative visual analog scale for pain over the first 24 h. Both patients appreciated the level and standard of pain relief. Conclusion: QL block is promising as a part of multimodal analgesia for laparoscopic abdominal surgeries. Further studies are needed to determine the best possible combination of different approaches to QL block.

Keywords::

• multimodal analgesia
• postoperative pain
• total laparoscopic hysterectomy
• ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the patients, relatives and their staff.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained verbal and written informed consent from the patients for the inclusion of their medical and treatment history within this case series.