A & A case reports
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The erector spinae plane (ESP) block is a regional anesthetic technique involving local anesthetic injection in a paraspinal plane deep to the erector spinae muscle. Originally described for thoracic analgesia when performed at the T5 transverse process, the ESP block can provide abdominal analgesia if performed at lower thoracic levels because the erector spinae muscles extend to the lumbar spine. A catheter inserted into this plane can extend analgesic duration and can be an alternative to epidural analgesia. In this report, we describe using bilateral ESP catheters inserted at the T8 level to provide effective perioperative analgesia for major open lower abdominal surgery.
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Painful rib fractures may be a factor in trauma patients remaining intubated and being given postoperative mechanical ventilation after emergency surgery. Regional techniques could provide sufficient analgesia in these patients to enable weaning and extubation and thus prevent or minimize complications related to prolonged ventilatory support. We describe a trauma patient with multiple rib fractures requiring an emergency splenectomy for whom an ultrasound-guided serratus plane block provided good quality pain relief for his rib fractures and enabled fast-track extubation in the operating room.
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Letter Case Reports
Iatrogenic Endotracheal Tube Obstruction by Tegaderm.
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Case Reports
Ventricular Perforation During Open Surgical Balloon Expandable Mitral Valve Replacement: A Case Report.
A 79-year-old woman with severe mitral annular calcification was scheduled for mitral valve replacement. A SAPIEN 3 valve was implanted in mitral position using an open surgical approach. ⋯ Risk factors specific to the open surgical approach include a decompressed ventricle, decreased annulus to apical distance, and the absence of continuous fluoroscopic and echocardiographic imaging. These create a clinical scenario where risk of ventricular perforation is increased compared with traditional intravascular transcatheter valve delivery.
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Case Reports
Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation for Treatment of Post Total Knee Arthroplasty Posterior Thigh Pain: A Case Report.
We present a case of a 68-year-old woman with 6 months of chronic unilateral posterior thigh pain after a total knee arthroplasty. The patient's pain was refractory to various treatments. After appropriate diagnostic tests, a genicular nerve block and subsequent radiofrequency ablation were performed. These procedures provided substantial pain relief of her thigh pain at 3 months follow-up.