Bilateral Transversus Abdominis Plane Block versus Epidural analgesia for Postoperative Pain Relief in Lower Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

Abstract For many years, epidural and caudal analgesia have been considered the gold-standard techniques after abdominal surgery for adults and children, respectively. The techniques consist of injecting the local anesthetic within the epidural space, between the ligamentumflavum and the dura mater. De-pending on the surgical site and the level of injection, cervical, thoracic, or lumbar nerve roots are blocked after their emergence from the neural foramen. Epidural and caudal analgesia have some drawbacks including hypotension secondary to the sympathetic blockade by the local anesthetic.