ON-Q Anesthetic Pump in Gynecologic Oncology: Feasibility Study of a Novel Placement Technique at an Army Hospital

Abstract

The goals were (1) to describe a novel placement technique for the ON-Q anesthetic system based on somatic neural anatomy and (2) to determine its feasibility, efficacy, and associated morbidity among surgical patients on a gynecologic oncology service. A retrospective observational study of 100 consecutive patients who underwent a vertical laparotomy and received an ON-Q system was performed. The ON-Q system was composed of a soaker catheter (threaded longitudinally within the rectus sheaths) and an elastomer pump that infused 0.5% bupivacaine at 2 mL/hour for up to 5 days. The average duration of ON-Q system use was 4.4 days (range, 2-5 days). The median numeric pain scores (range, 0-10) were 3, 2, 1, 0, and 0 on postoperative days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Complications encountered included suturing of the catheter to the fascia (n = 1), wound hematomas (n = 2), and device failure (n = 1). Intrafascial placement of the ON-Q soaker catheter for bupivacaine infusion appears effective for incisional analgesia, with negligible wound morbidity and device failure rates.