Liposomal Bupivacaine in Implant Based Breast Reconstruction

Objectives:

To evaluate the effect of liposomal bupivacaine on postoperative pain levels.
To evaluate the effect of liposomal bupivacaine on postoperative opioid consumption and opioid related adverse events.
To evaluate the effect of liposomal bupivacaine on length of hospital stay.
To evaluate the effect of liposomal bupivacaine on patient satisfaction with postoperative pain control.
To evaluate the effect of liposomal bupivacaine on overall patient satisfaction.

The objective of this project is to evaluate the role of liposomal bupivacaine in postoperative pain control following tissue expander and implant based breast reconstruction. This unique formulation of bupivacaine lends this drug a longer duration of action and reduced plasma bupivacaine concentrations compared to plain bupivacaine. This agent has been demonstrated to be safe, well tolerated, and effective in a number of different clinical applications. However, its role has yet to be evaluated in the context of breast reconstruction.

Thus, the authors propose the first, randomized, controlled clinical trial of liposomal bupivacaine for postoperative pain management following tissue expander and implant based breast reconstruction. Patients will be stratified into two study groups. Patients in the Group 1 (Bupivacaine) will be treated intraoperatively with injections of 0.5% bupivacaine and epinephrine 1:200,000, with 50 mg delivered to perform a field block of each pocket. This is the current standard of care. Patients in the Group 2 (Liposomal Bupivacaine) will be treated intraoperatively with injections of 1.33% liposomal bupivacaine, with 133 mg delivered to perform a field block of each breast pocket. This is the experimental intervention. Postoperatively, the investigators will assess pain levels, opioid consumption, opioid related adverse events, length of stay, and satisfaction.

The findings from this study will allow the authors to better elucidate the role of liposomal bupivacaine in expander/implant based breast reconstruction. In doing so, they may allow the authors to identify the ideal pain regimen for these patients. This holds important implications, with the potential to reduce postoperative pain, opioid consumption, opioid related adverse events, length of stay, and patient satisfaction.