Anesthetic management using a combination of anterior quadratus lumborum block and erector spinae plane block for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy: two case reports

• Main Authors: Nobuhiro Tanaka, Takuzo Kitazawa, Saki Mitani, Takanori Suzuka, Yuma Kadoya, Masahiko Kawaguchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2020-08-01
• Series: JA Clinical Reports
• Subjects: Erector spinae plane block; Peripheral nerve block; Quadratus lumborum block; Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40981-020-00371-2

Abstract Background There has been increasing attention regarding quadratus lumborum block (QLB) and erector spinae plane block (ESPB) as effective truncal blocks. There have been reports of combined QLB and ESPB usage in hip surgery resulting in a symbiotic increase in effectiveness. However, there have been no reports regarding robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN), which requires multiple port holes ranging from near the xiphoid process to below the umbilicus. We hypothesized that the combined use of QLB and ESPB was an option for anesthesia and analgesia during RAPN. Case presentation Anterior QLB and ESPB were applied to two patients undergoing scheduled RAPN. With intravenous patient-controlled analgesia, the post-surgery numerical rating scale scores were < 3/10 at rest and < 5/10 upon movement, throughout the perioperative time. Conclusions The combination of QLB and ESPB could be an option for the postoperative analgesia in RAPN.