Background: Postoperative pain, nausea, and vomiting are common after breast surgery. Acute postoperative pain following breast surgery is a major risk factor for chronic postoperative pain, so good perioperative pain management is critical.
Objective: The aim of the current study was to compare the efficacy of the US guided PVB and the ESPB in decreasing the intensity of postoperative pain using VAS following unilateral modified radical mastectomy (MRM).
Patients and methods: After approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine – Al-Azhar University and a written consent from each patient, a sample size of 46 patients (23 for each group) underwent unilateral MRM under GA at the Medical Research Institute hospital were enrolled in the study. All patients were randomly allocated into two equal groups by closed envelope method.
Results: There was no significant difference between both groups as regard the first use of PCA and the total dose of nalbuphine consumption in 24 hours postoperatively. There was no significant difference between both groups as regard patient satisfaction by using verbal rating scale for satisfaction. There were no recorded complications except for PONV, 1 patient in ESPB Group and 2 patients in PVB Group.
Conclusion: PVB and ESPB both considered effective in pain control following MRM, with similar analgesic effect duration, reduced postoperative opioid intake, and a steady haemodynamic status.