Mode of Anesthesia and Quality of Recovery After Breast Surgery: A Case Series of 100 Patients

Regional anesthesia techniques may improve patient recovery beyond treating postoperative pain alone and may facilitate patients in their return to functional, psychological as well as emotional baselines. We hypothesized that the quality of recovery (QoR) experienced by patients following breast surgery was associated with the type of anesthesia received as well as the use of a regional anesthesia technique during surgery.

We performed a single-center prospective, observational cohort study of patients undergoing elective breast procedures (both cancer and non-cancer surgery).

One hundred patients completed baseline QoR-15 questionnaires prior to surgery, of which 96 also completed QoR-15 questionnaires on postoperative day 1. The median (IQR) QoR-15 score at baseline was 133 (124-141), decreasing to 121 (106.75-136.25) on postoperative day 1. In multivariable linear regression analysis, paravertebral blocks (PVB) were associated with a 16.7 point higher overall QoR-15 score on postoperative day 1 compared to no block (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 7.7-25.8, p<0.001); while the use of combination blocks was associated with a 21.8 point higher postoperative QoR-15 score compared to no block (95% CI: 12.8-30.8, p<0.001). PVB and combination blocks were further associated with better postoperative pain, physical comfort, physical independence and emotional state scores, compared with no block. The use of total intravenous anesthetic was not associated with differences in postoperative QoR-15 score versus volatile anesthetic, after covariate adjustment.

Breast surgery patients receiving PVB or a combination of regional blocks during surgery have higher postoperative QoR-15 scores, after adjustment for other factors.