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Book

Pecto-Intercostal Fascial Plane Block

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
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Book

Pecto-Intercostal Fascial Plane Block

Alexander Zhu et al.
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Excerpt

Anterior chest wall pain after median sternotomy for open cardiothoracic surgery is common and can be debilitating for months afterward. As the field of anesthesiology adopts more opioid-sparing techniques, regional anesthesia has gained favor. Traditional neuraxial anesthesia is often avoided for cardiac surgical procedures as they require full heparinization. Other techniques like paravertebral or erector spinae blocks are cumbersome to perform post-operatively as the patient is intubated and in the supine position. For these reasons, parasternal blocks such as the pecto-intercostal fascial plane (PIFP) block are becoming increasingly popular.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Alexander Zhu declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Christopher Malgieri declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Geoffrey Hayward declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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