Laparoscopic Versus US-Guided Subcostal TAP Block After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Impact of Laparoscopic Versus Ultrasound-Guided Subcostal Transversus Abdominis Plane Block on Pain and Recovery After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Randomized Double-Blinded Controlled Study

Zaghiyan et al hypothesized that Laparoscopic TAP was noninferior to US-TAP and performed a randomized clinical trial comparing Laparoscopic TAP, US-TAP, and no TAP in minimally invasive colorectal surgery. The authors reported that LTAP was superior to UTAP in achieving pain control and minimizing opioid use in the first 24 hours after colorectal surgery.

This prospective randomized, controlled trial will be performed to assessed the efficacy of laparoscopic subcostal TAP block (LSTAP) compared to ultrasound-guided subcostal TAP (USTAP) block after laparoscopic cholecystectomy regarding postoperative pain scores in the first 24-hours after the intervention and analgesic requirements.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Consecutive adult patients of either gender who will undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy will be recruited to the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant women
• Patients who will undergo open cholecystectomy
• Patients who will need conversion to conventional open cholecystectomy
• Patients with ASA III classification or higher
• Patients who will undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy together with other abdominal interventions.