Comparison between Ultrasound Guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block versus Ultrasound Guided IlioInguinal/Iliohypogastric Nerves Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Unilateral Oblique Inguinal Hernia Repair Under General Anesthesia

Background Inguinal hernia considered the third common disease in surgeries for adults after acute appendicitis and proctologic disorders. About 20 millions of inguinal hernia repairs are performed globally. Inguinal herniorrhaphy is frequently associated with persistent postoperative pain. Objectives The aim of this study is to assess the postoperative analgesic efficacy of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block compared to ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerves block after unilateral inguinal hernia repair regarding the pain relief, effect on hemodynamics, requirement of first supplemental doses of analgesia and total number of doses received. Patients and Methods The study was conducted on 70 randomly chosen patients aged 21 to 60 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I or II scheduled for elective unilateral open inguinal hernia repair under general anesthesia, in Ain Shams University Hospitals after approval of the medical ethical committee. Results The results of the study revealed that there is Patients receiving TAP block had significantly lower pain scores at 4 h and 6 h after operation, delay time for rescue analgesia and decrease total need of analgesic in first 24 h post operative compared with patients who received ilioinguinal/ iliohypogastric nerves block. Conclusion TAP block was effective in reducing postoperative pain scores for 4-6 hours, lowering total 24-h postoperative opioid and analgesic consumption and delaying the need for rescue analgesia after inguinal hernia repair under general anesthesia, compared to ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerves block. This technique can be a promising mode of postoperative analgesia when epidural catheter insertion is contraindicated.