Background and aims Since erector spinae plane (ESP) block was first described, many case reports have been published. Most of them have proven to be useful as part of mutimodal approach in analgesia. We present the ESP technique as a regional anesthesia option in oncologic breast surgery.

Methods Thirteen consecutive patients undergoing oncological breast surgery between April 2018 and April 2019 received an ESP block with a continuous catheter along with endovenous sedation with espontaneous ventilation. All patients were suspicious of or diagnosed with breast cancer determined by clinical features, physical examination, image studies and/or fine needle aspiration studies. The anesthesic technique was explained by the anesthesiologist before the intervention and informed consent was signed. The primary endpoint was set as the need to convert to general anesthesia. Secondary endpoints included need for rescue analgesia and hospital discharge 24 hours after procedure. Funding was provided by the authors.

Results There were 12 female patients and 1 male patient with a mean age of 64.61 years (range from 36 to 87 years). No patient required conversion to general anesthesia or rescue analgesia in the postoperative period. All patients were discharged home 24 hours after the surgery.

Conclusions ESP block can be used as regional anesthesia for oncologic breast surgery using a continuous catheter. This technique can provide good postoperative analgesia and patients can be discharged 24 hours after the procedure. Further studies are needed to evaluate overall safety for this procedure.