Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · May 2009
Case ReportsUltrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block for neonatal abdominal surgery.
This paper describes four neonates having abdominal procedures with intraoperative and early postoperative analgesia provided by a transversus abdominis plane regional block. Analgesia for neonatal upper and mid-abdominal surgery usually involves regional anaesthesia and/or systemic opioid. All these analgesia techniques have problems specific to the neonatal period. ⋯ We report four neonates who underwent minor or major abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia supplemented by ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block. Perioperative opioids were administered to one neonate who required postoperative ventilation. Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane bock is a technically feasible alternative to local anaesthetic wound infiltration in the neonate and warrants further evaluation.