US-Guided Serratus Anterior Plane Block Versus Thoracic Epidural in Patients Undergoing Thoracotomy

Thoracic surgeries is known to be one of the most painful surgeries . Multiple analgesic techniques have been used for post operative analgesia including Thoracic epidural , Patient Controlled Analgesia and systemic opioids. Opioids are associated with multiple sied effects including : PONV , Respiratory depression and ileus while thoracic epidural has its own complications such as hemodynamic instability , injury of spinal cord, pneumothorax and epidural hematoma. Peripheral nerve blocks provide good alternative for perioperative analgesia. The purpose of our study is to compare the effectiveness of perioperative continuous serratus anterior plane block versus continuous thoracic epidural in pain management during thoracic surgeries for malignancy resection.