Efficacy of Paragastric Neural Block Procedure on Postoperative Pain in Patients Who Underwent Sleeve Gastrectomy

Efficacy and Safety of Paragastric Neural Block in Controlling Pain, Nausea and Vomiting After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy; Prospective Randomized Controlled Double-blind Study

Surgical treatment is the most effective way to achieve effective and sustainable weight loss in patients with obesity and to improve the comorbidities caused by it.

Although minimally invasive bariatric surgical procedures are applied today, postoperative pain is one of the most basic problems. Opioid-derived drugs used for pain control cause respiratory depression and constipation. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols recommend reducing opioid use after bariatric surgery to help patients have a healthier postoperative period.

Different methods such as transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and erector spinae plane (ESP) block are used to reduce the postoperative opioid dose and for effective pain control. While these methods are effective in controlling somatic pain, they have no effect on visceral pain.

It has been shown that patients' pain and opioid consumption decrease especially after celiac plexus block. Vagal and sympathetic afferent stimuli from the gastrointestinal tract, on the other hand, stimulate the vomiting center and cause nausea and vomiting. Paragastric neural block is a new method performed by injecting local anesthetic into the posterosuperior paragastric area in the area covering the left gastric artery by revealing the esophagogastric junction, proximal stomach, middle of the stomach, distal antrum, hepatoduodenal ligament and stomach posterior along the border of the lesser omentum. In this way, it is aimed to prevent both visceral pain and the symptoms of nausea and vomiting.

In our study, the investigators aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of paragastric nerve block applied during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy by comparing it with the control group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Body mass index of over 35 and an obesity-related comorbidity,
• Body mass index of over 40,
• Patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy,
• ASA risk score of 2-3,
• Agreed to be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Chronic pain disorder or using gabapentin,
• Opioid addicts,
• Using anticoagulant drugs,
• History of previous upper gastrointestinal system surgery,
• Surgical complications during or after surgery,
• Hepatic or renal failure,
• Moderate or severe cardiovascular or respiratory disease,
• Allergy to the local anesthetic agent to be applied for the block,
• Limited cooperation,
• More than one surgical intervention in the same session,
• Allergy to the drugs to be used in the postoperative treatment protocol.