Surgical site infiltration: A neuroanatomical approach

Local anaesthetic administration into a surgical wound blocks the noxious stimuli that result from surgical insult at the site of origin. Surgical site infiltration (also known as local infiltration analgesia) is easy to perform, safe and inexpensive. In addition, it avoids motor blockade, which is particularly relevant for lower limb surgery. The best approach to surgical site infiltration includes meticulous, systematic and extensive surgical site local anaesthetic infiltration in the various tissue planes under direct visualisation before closure of the surgical wound. Local anaesthetic solutions that could be used include bupivacaine HCl, ropivacaine or liposomal bupivacaine diluted with preservative-free normal (0.9%) saline to a total volume depending on the size of the incision. Bupivacaine and ropivacaine are sometimes combined with additives, which have controversial benefits. Continuous wound infusion with preperitoneal wound catheters is an effective pain modality in abdominal surgery and can be used as an alternative for neuraxial analgesia. It is essential that surgical site infiltration is combined with other non-opioid analgesics such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to attain the maximum analgesic efficacy.