Journal of Spine

Regional Analgesia Techniques for Spine Surgery: A Review with Special Reference to Scoliosis Fusion

Abstract

Benyahia N-M, Breebaart MB, Sermeus L and Vercauteren M

The use of regional analgesia techniques for postoperative analgesia in spine surgery is less frequently used in comparison with conventional oral and parenteral treatment. This may be explained by the fact that surgery is mostly performed under general anesthesia. Although objections of the surgeon are comprehensible, there is a growing number of studies using regional techniques for the treatment of pain after this surgery. When postoperative analgesia is the focus then regional techniques can be initiated at any time-point of the procedure while all ages and types of surgery, even extensive scoliosis fusion may benefit from it. The present overview will focus on the feasibility of (loco)regional techniques to be used for postoperative analgesia, medications used alone or in combination, as a single bolus or through persistent catheters and with special attention to pain relief following scoliosis repair. In general neuraxial techniques offer lower pain scores and/or less need for opioid rescue in comparison with systemic conventional analgesia although much less benefit may be noticed in patients operated for spinal fusion than for disc surgery, laminectomy and adolescent scoliosis correction. The actual literature provides little evidence with respect to the best timing of initiation, the best route nor the best dose in relationship to the type of surgery. Besides neuraxial techniques several alternatives have found their way in this type of intervention. As all techniques described offered variable success rates, future research is mandatory to determine their superiority over general anesthesia and conventional pain therapy modalities.