Erector spinae plane block as an alternative to epidural analgesia for post-operative analgesia following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: A case study and a literature review on the spread of local anaesthetic in the erector spinae plane

Post-operative pain after minimally invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in adults is commonly managed with oral and parenteral opioids and invasive regional techniques such as thoracic epidural blockade. Emerging research has shown that the novel erector spinae plane (ESP) block, can be employed as a simple and safe alternative analgesic technique for acute post-surgical, post-traumatic and chronic neuropathic thoracic pain in …