Comparison of M-TAPA and TAP Blocks on Postoperative Analgesia in Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Surgeries

February 9, 2026 updated by: Oguz Gundogdu, Cumhuriyet University

Comparison of the Analgesic Effects of Modified Thoracoabdominal Nerve Block Through Pericondrial Approach (M-TAPA) and Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block in Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Surgeries

The goal of this study is to compare the analgesic efficacy of M-TAPA block and TAP block in patients undergoing laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgeries.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

There will be three randomized groups: Group Control (no any block, n=30) Group M-TAPA (n=30), Group TAP (n=30). All patients will have standard general anesthesia. Group M-TAPA patients will receive bilateral M-TAPA block with 0.25% bupivacaine (total volume of 40 ml). Group TAP patients will have bilateral lateral-TAP block with 0.25% bupivacaine (total volume of 40 ml). All blocks will be performed at the end of the surgery, before awakening the patients. All patients in the study will receive 50 mg dexketoprofen and 1 gr paracetamol intravenos (i.v.) 10 minutes prior to skin closure. All patients will have ibuprofen 3x400 mg in postoperative 24 hours (maximum dose 1200 mg/day). Numerical rating scale (NRS) will be used to assess postoperative pain on 1st, 6th, 12th, 18th and 24th hour after the surgery. 50 mg tramadol will be administered as a rescue analgesic in all patients.Total tramadol consumption will be calculated.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

90

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Si̇vas
      • Sivas, Si̇vas, Turkey (Türkiye), 58140
        • Sivas Cumhuriyet University School of Medicine, Anesthesiology and Reanimation

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patients older than 18 years of age who will undergo laparoscopic inguinal hernia under general anesthesia and will be American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I-II-III according to the ASA risk classification.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who did not give consent,
  • patients with coagulopathy,
  • patients with signs of infection at the block application site,
  • patients using anticoagulants,
  • patients with local anesthetic drug allergies,
  • patients undergoing open surgery,
  • patients with unstable hemodynamics,
  • patients who could not cooperate during postoperative pain assessment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: CONTROL
Control group patients are not going to be subjected to any block or local infiltration anesthesia. Their postoperative pain will be relieved with ibuprofen and tramadol (intravenous) administrations.
Active Comparator: M-TAPA
Patients will have bilateral M-TAPA block with 0.25% bupivacaine (total volume of 40 ml) at the end of the surgery for postoperative pain control.
Other: M-TAPA block with bupivacaine 25%
Following sterile conditions for bilateral M-TAPA block application, the transducer will be inserted on the chondrium in the sagittal plane at the 9-10th rib level. Subsequently, a deep angle will be created with the probe for visualization of the underside of the costochondrium. The sonovisible needle tip will be placed just below the chondrium and saline (5 ml) will be injected for site confirmation. After the confirmation, 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine will be administered for each group for a total of 40 ml of local anesthetic. Blocks will be applied using an 80 mm sonovisible needle with a 6-10 MHz linear probe under the guidance of a portable ultrasound. M-TAPA block with the same standard technique and drug dose will be applied to the contralateral side for each group of M-TAPA patients.
Other Names:
  • Modified thoracoabdominal nerve block through perichondrial approach
Active Comparator: TAP
Patients will have bilateral lateral-TAP block with 0.25% bupivacaine (total volume of 40 ml) at the end of the surgery for postoperative pain control.
Other: TAP block with bupivacaine 25%
After the necessary sterilization conditions established, the linear ultrasound probe will be placed in the middle of the iliac crest with the end limit of the ribs. Starting with skin, the layers in descending order, subcutaneous adipose tissue, external oblique muscle, internal oblique muscle, transversus abdominis muscle, and peritoneum will be identified. As the tip of the 80 mm sonovisible needle passes through the muscular layers and fascia, the needle will be advanced in a controlled manner. After receiving the click sensation (passage of the fascia of the internal oblique muscle), the location of the needle will be fixed and 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine will be injected between internal oblique and transversus abdominis muscles. Same procedure will be performed to the other site. (40 ml local anesthetics in total)
Other Names:
  • Transversus abdominis plane block

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Comparing the numerical rating scale scores
Time Frame: Postoperative 24 hours
Numerical rating scale will be used for pain assessment. The scores of the numerical rating scale changes between 0 to 10 points. 10 points mean "the most severe pain that the patient ever had". 0 point means "there is no pain." Higher scores mean worse outcome.
Postoperative 24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Comparing total tramadol consumption
Time Frame: Postoperative 24 hours
Postoperative analgesic need
Postoperative 24 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cumhuriyet University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: OĞUZ GÜNDOĞDU, Sivas Cumhuriyet University School of Medicine, Anesthesiology and Reanimation

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 23, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

January 17, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 25, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 1, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

July 3, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 9, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Comparison of M-TAPA and TAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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