Opioid Free Cardiac Surgery: A Multimodal Pain Management Strategy with a Focus on Bilateral Erector Spinae Plane Block Catheters

Cardiac surgery requiring sternotomy presents unique challenges for perioperative and postoperative analgesia. Intraoperatively, the sympathetic response to surgical stimulation must be carefully modulated to prevent excessive bleeding, maintain the integrity of surgical repairs, and decrease the risk of stroke or iatrogenic aortic injury without compromising myocardial and systemic perfusion. This must be achieved in patients whose underlying abnormal physiology coupled with the effects of the surgical procedure often result in tenuous hemodynamics.
Source: Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Case Conference Source Type: research