Ultrasound Guided Posterior Quadratus Lumborum Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Gynecologic Surgery

The challenge to achieve adequate analgesia has led to the development of directed, multi-modal protocols specific to management of post-laparoscopy pain in effort to decrease the amount of additional administration of narcotic medication. While several non-opioid regiments have been found to be effective, opioid medications still play a significant role in early postoperative analgesia. Given the adverse side effects of narcotic medications, regional blocks utilizing local anesthetic agents and has been shown to improve overall pain control in this time period. Truncal abdominal nerve blocks are useful for pain control in abdominal and pelvic surgeries. More recently, the utilization of the quadratus lumborum (QL) block has effectively alleviated somatic and visceral pain in the upper and lower abdomen. The QL block provides analgesia spanning from the T4 to L1 dermatomal levels in the thoracolumbar plane to provide a broad sensory level analgesic effect. The approach involves injecting local anesthetic under ultrasound guidance into the plane posterior to the quadratus lumborum muscle and middle layer of thoracolumbar fascia. Given the utility of the QL block in controlling somatic pain, this study aims to determine whether the QL block is an effective analgesic adjunct in the control of postoperative pain period, specifically with regards to patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecologic surgery.