Discussion
Acute postoperative pain, pectoral muscle resection
CHRONIC PAIN, SECONDARY
This study will assess the opioid demand during the first 24 h after extubation following MICS. The available evidence on using local anesthetics in major cardiac surgery is scarce [The secondary endpoints assess the evolution of VAS during the first 24 h, namely 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 h after extubation. Also, the OBAS after 24 h will be assessed, giving a more subjective evaluation of the analgesia and its subjective benefit [Acute postoperative pain and the development of chronic pain are significant issues in cardiac surgery [With the upcoming less invasive surgical approaches, such as MICS, where two or three small thoracotomies replace open surgery access, an increased interest in ERAS pathways arose in cardiac surgery [Over the last decade, several ultrasound-guided truncal fascial plane blocks have been latter block has shown to provide good analgesia to the anterolateral chest wall for modified mastectomy, including axilla dissection and pectoral muscle resection [Given the strict unilateral right approach of MICS, the PECS II block could be an exciting addition to multimodal analgesia. And as central venous catheters are usually placed on the right side, the ultrasound-guided PECS II block does not require further positioning, washing, and covering of the patient, thereby adding an essential advantage in time and logistics compared to other regional anesthesia techniques.This study was designed to clarify if a PECS II block could efficiently reduce opioids in patients undergoing unilateral MICS. This study’s results may support anesthesiologists in choosing strategies for multimodal analgesia.