The Utility of Erector Spinae Plane Blocks in Breast Surgery: A Practical Review

In plastic surgery, breast surgery patients are among the most susceptible to postoperative pain. Amidst the opioid epidemic, healthcare goals seek to optimize nonopioid multimodal pain control by including regional analgesia. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is among several regional blocks used in breast surgery. Although the paravertebral block has previously served as the gold standard, new research focused on ESPB may shift standards.

A comprehensive PubMed review was performed in September 2023 to identify articles related to ESPB use in breast surgery. Non-English and unavailable articles were excluded. Data extracted included publication year, techniques, and outcomes.

Sixty-eight publications were included, of which 31 were randomized control trials (45.6%). Most were published between 2021 and 2023 (n = 40, 58.8%). Most articles that evaluated pain and opioid use suggested that ESPB performed better than nonblocked groups (n = 26, 38.2% of total articles and n = 4, 5.88% of total articles) and performed similarly to other blocks. However, articles that evaluated the pectoral nerve block suggested it outperformed ESPB in these aspects (n = 6 articles, 8.82%). ESPB was shown to be a safe and procedurally short block to perform, effective in the hands of novice providers.

ESPB offers reliable outcomes, improving pain control and decreasing opioid consumption. In turn, this can decrease healthcare costs and patient morbidity.