Adequate postoperative analgesia can reduce morbidity and mortality associated with open

abdominal gynaecologic oncology surgery by allowing early ambulation, decreasing hospital

stay, thromboembolism, and other adverse outcome. Routinely opioids are used for managing

post-operative pain relief after major surgery with associated side effects like respiratory

depression, nausea, vomiting, constipation and drowsiness. Opioids delivered through epidural

route offer advantage of superior pain relief with reduction in the consumption. However,

epidural analgesia is associated with adverse effects like hypotension, delayed ambulation, ileus

and failed block.

USG guided bilateral erector spinae plane block is a comparatively new analgesic modality in

thoracic and abdominal surgery which is easy to administer and proposed to have comparable

analgesia and decreased complications compared to that with epidural analgesia.

This is a randomized controlled study to be conducted among 60 adult females undergoing

elective open abdominal gynaecologic oncology surgery under general anaesthesia with patient

controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA). Patients will be randomly allocated to two groups (Group

A, Group B) of 30 each. Group A will receive ultrasound (USG) guided bilateral erector spinae

plane block. Group B will not receive erector spinae plane block. Post-operative consumption of

fentanyl via PCEA pump and rescue analgesia with systemic opioids received will be assessed

for 24 hours. Post-operative analgesia in terms of visual analogue scale (VAS), haemodynamic

changes, sedation, nausea and vomiting will be compared between both the groups. We

hypothesise that USG guided bilateral erector spinae plane block could provide adequate post-

operative analgesia thereby reducing post-operative fentanyl consumption in women undergoing

open abdominal gynaecologic oncologic surgery with lesser side effects.