A Comparison of UGBRS Block and Local Infiltration

Laparoscopic appendectomy is a common procedure in pediatric surgery. For single incision laparoscopic appendectomy (SILA), the laparoscope and other instruments are inserted with the aid of a large trocar through a single umbilical incision. Laparoscopic appendectomy via a single umbilical incision is a less invasive procedure associated with minimal or no scarring compared to the traditional laparoscopic operation. Postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting are common problems encountered with laparoscopic appendectomy and other abdominal operations. As an established standard practice at Texas Children's Hospital, pain control in these patients is achieved by intravenous opioids via a patient controlled device along with ketorolac tromethamine, as well as local anesthetic infiltration (LAI) performed by surgeon or bilateral rectus sheath blocks as described below.

The umbilical area is innervated by the bilateral 9th, 10th and 11th intercostal nerves, which run between the internal oblique and transversus abdominis muscle. At the lateral edge of the rectus muscle, the nerves perforate the rectus sheath and innervate the rectus muscle. Anterior cutaneous branches cross the muscle supplying the skin of the umbilical area. Successful blockade of the relevant intercostal nerves within the rectus sheath can provide effective pain relief for umbilical and other midline surgical incisions. Rectus sheath block has also been shown to give better pain control when compared with intra-incisional infiltration and intra-peritoneal injection in patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecologic surgery. Recently, it has been shown that there is improved efficacy and a decreased local anesthetic requirement when ultrasound is used to guide rectus sheath block in children undergoing umbilical hernia repair. However, data comparing pain after ultrasound guided bilateral rectus sheath block (UGBRSB) and peri-umbilical local anesthetic infiltration (LAI) for SILA are not available. The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is high after laparoscopic surgery, with a dose-related increase noted when opioids are used in the postoperative period. Effective regional anesthesia may decrease opioids use and consequently reduce the incidence of PONV and improve patient satisfaction.