Loco-Regional Anesthesia for Pain Management in Robotic Thoracic Surgery

Abstract

Robotic thoracic surgery is a prominent minimally invasive approach for the treatment of various thoracic diseases. While this technique offers numerous benefits including reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and less postoperative pain, effective pain management remains crucial to enhance recovery and minimize complications. This review focuses on the application of various loco-regional anesthesia techniques in robotic thoracic surgery, particularly emphasizing their role in pain management. Techniques such as local infiltration anesthesia (LIA), thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA), paravertebral block (PVB), intercostal nerve block (INB), and erector spinae plane block (ESPB) are explored in detail regarding their methodologies, benefits, and potential limitations. The review also discusses the imperative of integrating these anesthesia methods with robotic surgery to optimize patient outcomes. The findings suggest that while each technique has unique advantages, the choice of anesthesia should be tailored to the patient’s clinical status, the complexity of the surgery, and the specific requirements of robotic thoracic procedures. The review concludes that a multimodal analgesia strategy, potentially incorporating several of these techniques, may offer the most effective approach for managing perioperative pain in robotic thoracic surgery. Future directions include refining these techniques through technological advancements like ultrasound guidance and exploring the long-term impacts of loco-regional anesthesia on patient recovery and surgical outcomes in the context of robotic thoracic surgery.