Research recognized with a Resident/Fellow Travel Award by ASRA Pain Medicine^®

A new study finds that using a continuous serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) as part of pain management for patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive lung surgery, can reduce early opioid use and may shorten hospital stays.

The study, conducted by researchers at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario, Canada, has been recognized with a Resident/Fellow Travel Award for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine®) 51st Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting, being held April 16-18 in Phoenix, AZ.

In the trial, 173 adult patients were randomly assigned to receive either a continuous SAPB infusion or a placebo after surgery, in addition to standard pain management that included local anesthesia and patient-controlled opioids. Researchers measured patients’ quality of recovery, pain scores, opioid use, and hospital outcomes.

Results showed that patients who received the SAPB infusion used significantly less opioid medication immediately after surgery and on the first postoperative day. Quality of recovery scores were consistently higher in the SAPB group, although differences did not reach statistical significance. Length of hospital stay was about one day shorter on average for patients receiving the SAPB infusion. Pain scores and complication rates were similar between groups, and no block-related complications were reported.

The study suggests that continuous SAPB infusion is a safe and effective way to reduce opioid use after surgery while maintaining quality of recovery, making it a valuable part of multimodal pain management.

Lauren Kolodzey, MD, will present “Impact of Continuous Serratus Plane Block on Quality of Recovery After Vats: A Prospective Blinded Randomized Trial” on April 18, 2026, at 1:45 pm during the session “New Blocks for Your Repertoire.” Additional authors on the study are Drs. Hamza Zidan, Mahesh Nagappa, Kamal Kumar, Lee-Anne Fochesato, Dalilah Fortin, Julio Gomez Tamayo, Richard Inculet, Cheng Lin, Mohammad Misurati, George Nicolaou, Mehdi Qiabi, Curtis Van Doormaal, Richard Mathaner, and Abhijit Biswas.