176. Thoracolumbar interfascial plane (TLIP) block and intrathecal fentanyl injection results in an opioid-free peri- and postoperative recovery and early ambulation after percutaneous lumbar spine surgery

• Published in: The spine journal 2020-09, Vol.20 (9), p.S87-S87
• Main Authors: Morgenstern, Christian, Paesano, Carlos Rafael Ramirez, Juanola, Albert, Morgenstern, Rudolf
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1529-9430; 1878-1632
• DOI: 10.1016/j.spinee.2020.05.587

Open lumbar spine fusion surgery usually requires opioid analgesia for several weeks during the postoperative recovery period. Recently, a facet-sparing, full percutaneous transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has been introduced that uses an endoscopic cannula for placement of an interbody cage in combination with percutaneous transpedicular screws and rods. The Thoraco-Lumbar Interfascial Plain (TLIP) block is a novel, ultrasound-guided local anesthesia technique that targets the sensory component of the dorsal rami of the thoracolumbar nerves. We aim to evaluate the efficacy in avoiding post-operative opioid analgesics and allowing early patient ambulation of a novel inter-disciplinary, spine surgery protocol that combines a perioperative TLIP block, intrathecal fentanyl injection and percutaneous TLIF spine surgery. Prospective, nonrandomized sequential case series study. A total of 15 consecutive patients underwent TLIP combined with percutaneous TLIF spine surgery between 2018 and 2019. Indication for spine surgery was degenerative disk disease of the lumbar spine with or without spondylolisthesis up to grade 2 and foraminal stenosis. Pre- and postoperative visual analogic scale (VAS) for lumbar back and leg pain were quantitatively assessed (range 0 to 10) immediately, at 6 and at 12 hours after surgery and at time of hospital discharge. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores (range 0 to 50) were assessed preoperatively and at time of hospital discharge. The time of first post-operative patient ambulation was registered. Significance between pre- and postoperative scores were analyzed with student's paired t-test. Intrathecal fentanyl 25 mcgr was administered to the patient in sitting position and ultrasound-guided bilateral TLIP was performed in prone position with bupivacaine 0.25% and dexamethasone 8mgrs (20ml each side) by the anesthesia team. All patients were operated on under general anesthesia (protocol: propofol 2.0-3.0 mcg/ml (TCI) following BIS, ketamine 0.15 mg/Kg/h, rocuronium 0.4 mg/Kg). Percutaneous TLIF was performed by inserting an expandable interbody implant using the facet-sparing, trans-Kambin approach with an endoscopic cannula and complemented with a percutaneous posterior fixation consisting of transpedicular screws and rods. Postoperative analgesia included NSAIDs, acetaminophen and a manually patient-controlled oral sublingual 15 mcgr sufentanil microtablet analgesic system (Zalviso®), while its use was monitored. F