Postoperative Analgesia in Laparoscopic Abdominal Surgery After Exparel Via TAP or Local Infiltration

Overview

This study evaluates differences in how administering liposomal bupivacaine via two different methods affects postoperative pain control in laparoscopic abdominal surgery patients. Half the participants will receive liposomal bupivacaine via a transverses abdominis plane block while the other half will receive liposomal bupivacaine via local infiltration.

Liposomal bupivacaine is a newer formulation of a local anesthetic that is commonly used for local infiltration, peripheral nerve blocks, and neuraxial anesthesia. This new formulation allows the effects of bupivacaine to last up to 72 hours as it is slowly released from a liposome. It is FDA approved for local infiltration and has recently been approved for interscalene blocks. A transversus abdominis plane block is a fascial plane block that is performed routinely for postoperative pain relief for some abdominal incisions. It is performed by placing local anesthetic between the internal oblique and transverses abdominis muscle planes where it will provide analgesia to several dermatomes of the abdomen in hopes of improving postoperative pain relief and reducing postoperative opioid requirement.

Conditions