Epidural analgesia, though the gold standard of post-operative pain management for laparotomies, is associated with limitations and is contraindicated in many patients. Opioid-based pain management, which is an alternative to epidural, has been implicated in post-operative nausea, vomiting, and ileus. We report successful management of post operative pain with ultrasound guided rectus sheath (RS) catheters. RS block is a promising alternative in scenarios were epidural is contraindicated, has failed or in case of unexpected change in the surgical plan.
Keywords: Opioid-sparing pain management; rectus sheath block; ultrasound-guided regional catheters.