Introduction
neuropathic, ESPB, pain
Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and patients have been most concerned about pain and early recovery after surgery. Various efforts have been introduced to help patients recover early after surgery, and the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol is the most comprehensive strategy for these efforts. ERAS regimens have been increasingly used to maintain physiological function, accelerate recovery, and reduce postoperative stress after surgeriesLaparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCS) is related to reduced postoperative pain, analgesic requirements, lower morbidity, faster recovery, and shorter length of hospitalization than open surgeryAmong various regional anesthesia techniques, the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a simple and novel analgesia technique widely used for its minimal risks. By injecting local anesthetics into the fascial plane, ESPB has the similar mechanism action with the paravertebral block; local anesthetics are distributed to multiple levels of paravertebral space, providing visceral and somatic analgesia in the thoracoabdominal regionAlthough ESPB was initially used to treat severe neuropathic painFrom these backgrounds, the current study aimed to determine the efficacy of ESPB in LCS. We hypothesized that ESPB provides significant analgesic effects, decreases postoperative opioid consumption, and facilitates postoperative recovery.