The largest study of its kind to date has concluded that transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks with liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel, Pacira BioSciences) produce comparable analgesia to epidural analgesic approaches in adults undergoing abdominal surgery, and resulted in significantly less postoperative hypotension.
However, the study found that patients receiving TAP blocks used more postoperative opioids.
“We started using TAP blocks several years ago,” said Alparslan Turan, MD, a