Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Mastectomy

May 16, 2026 updated by: Fatma Acil,MD, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital

Mastectomy and Axillary Dissection: Evaluation of the Effect of Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block on Postoperative Analgesia: A Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

This study aims to evaluate the effect of serratus posterior superior intercostal plane (SPSIP) block on postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and analgesic requirements in patients undergoing mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial designed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of the serratus posterior superior intercostal plane (SPSIP) block in patients undergoing mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection. Postoperative pain following breast surgery is often significant and may increase opioid consumption and related adverse effects, highlighting the need for effective regional anesthesia techniques.

The SPSIP block is a novel ultrasound-guided interfascial plane block with emerging evidence in thoracic and chest wall procedures; however, its role in breast surgery remains unclear, particularly in placebo-controlled settings. This study aims to determine whether the SPSIP block provides additional benefit as part of a standardized multimodal analgesia approach.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either SPSIP block with local anesthetic or a placebo intervention under identical conditions, with blinding applied to all relevant parties. All patients will receive the same perioperative anesthesia and analgesia protocol.

The results of this study are expected to clarify the clinical value of SPSIP block in breast surgery and contribute to the development of evidence-based postoperative pain management strategies.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Outside of the US
      • Diyarbakır, Outside of the US, Turkey (Türkiye), 21070
        • Recruiting
        • Fatma Acil
        • Contact:

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:

  • Female patients aged 18-65 years
  • ASA physical status I-III
  • Scheduled for elective unilateral mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection under general anesthesia
  • Able to understand and use the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain assessment
  • Provided written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known allergy or hypersensitivity to local anesthetics (e.g., bupivacaine)
  • Coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia (<100,000/mm³), or ongoing anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy that cannot be discontinued
  • Infection or skin lesion at the injection site
  • Planned bilateral surgery or additional major surgical procedures
  • Chronic pain conditions or regular use of opioids, gabapentinoids, or centrally acting analgesics
  • Neurological or psychiatric conditions interfering with pain assessment
  • History of previous major thoracic or chest wall surgery on the same side
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Refusal to participate or inability to provide informed consent

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Group
Participants in this group will receive an ultrasound-guided placebo block using 30 mL of normal saline under identical conditions, in addition to standard general anesthesia and multimodal analgesia.
Procedure: SPSIP Block With Saline
Participants will receive an ultrasound-guided SPSIP block using normal saline under identical conditions.
Experimental: Serratus Posterior Superior Intercostal Plane Block Group
Participants in this group will receive an ultrasound-guided serratus posterior superior intercostal plane (SPSIP) block prior to surgery using 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine, in addition to standard general anesthesia and multimodal analgesia.
Procedure: SPSIP Block With Bupivacaine
Participants will receive an ultrasound-guided SPSIP block using bupivacaine.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
24-hour cumulative opioid consumption
Time Frame: 24 hours
Total opioid consumption within the first 24 hours after surgery, recorded in milligrams.
24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Static postoperative pain intensity at rest
Time Frame: 0, 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery
Postoperative pain intensity at rest will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain.
0, 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery
Dynamic postoperative pain intensity during movement
Time Frame: 0, 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery
Postoperative pain intensity during movement will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain.
0, 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after surgery
Rescue analgesia requirement
Time Frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Number of patients requiring rescue analgesia and total rescue analgesic consumption.
Within 24 hours after surgery
Time to first rescue analgesia
Time Frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Time from the end of surgery to the first administration of rescue analgesia.
Within 24 hours after surgery
Incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)
Time Frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Occurrence of nausea and/or vomiting during the postoperative period.
Within 24 hours after surgery
Block-related and opioid-related adverse events
Time Frame: Within 24 hours after surgery
Incidence of adverse events including local anesthetic toxicity, hematoma, infection, and opioid-related side effects.
Within 24 hours after surgery
Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) score
Time Frame: 24 hours after surgery
Quality of recovery assessed using the QoR-15 questionnaire. Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) questionnaire was used to assess postoperative recovery. The total score ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 150. A higher score represents a better recovery outcome (0 = extremely poor recovery, 150 = excellent recovery)
24 hours after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Fatma Acil, M.D., Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital

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)

May 16, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 29, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 16, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 27/01/2026-38

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article (text, tables, figures, and appendices) will be shared.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Time Frame: "Starting 6 months and ending 36 months following article publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. Proposals should be directed to : acilfatma@gmail.com

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

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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