Cardiothoracic surgeries are associated with significant pain. Optimal analgesia is a vital part of enhanced recovery after surgery strategies intended to improve patients' perioperative experience and outcomes. Traditionally, analgesia in these types of surgeries has depended on large doses of I.V. opioids (Anesth Analg 2020;131:127-35). This is particularly pertinent given the current focus on removing needless perioperative opioid administration, and thereby decreasing the potential for opioid side effects.
As an alternative, there is a growing appreciation for the critical role that regional anesthesia can play in an overall multimodal anesthetic strategy (Anaesthesia 2020;75:e101-10). Among regional anesthesia strategies, techniques involving an injection of local anesthetic into fascial planes, rather than directly around discrete nerves, are growing more popular. The attraction of employing such regional blocks for cardiothoracic surgeries lies mainly in their relative reliability, ease of placement, and safety (Curr Opin Anaesthesiol 2020;33:692-7). The most...
