Pecto-intercostal Fascial Plane Block: A Novel Technique for Analgesia in Patients with Sternal Dehiscence

Sternal wound complications following sternotomy need a multidisciplinary approach in high-risk postoperative cardiac surgical patients. Poorly controlled pain during surgical management of such wounds increases cardiovascular stress and respiratory complications. Multimodal analgesia including intravenous opioids, non-opioid analgesics, and regional anesthesia techniques, like central neuraxial blocks and fascial plane blocks, have been described. Pecto-intercostal fascial plane block (PIFB), a novel technique, has been effectively used in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Under ultrasound (US) guidance PIFB is performed with the aim of depositing local anesthetic between two superficial muscles, namely the pectoralis major muscle and the external intercostal muscle. The authors report a series of five cases where US-guided bilateral PIFB was used in patients undergoing sternal wound debridement. Patients had excellent analgesia intraoperatively as well as postoperatively for 24 hours with minimal requirement of supplemental analgesia. None of the patients experienced complications due to PIFB administration. The authors concluded that bilateral PIFB can be effectively used as an adjunct to multimodal analgesia with general anesthesia and as a sole anesthesia technique in selected cases of sternal wound debridement.