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Serratus anterior plane block has been used for pain management during the acute period of conditions affecting the thorax, such as postthoracotomy recovery, rib fracture, and breast surgery recovery. Here, we report the use of serratus anterior plane block in posttraumatic chronic pain treatment. We describe a case of posttraumatic chronic intercostal neuralgia, in which successful pain relief was achieved via repeated injections of local anesthetic and steroid combinations in the serratus anterior plane under ultrasonographic guidance. This novel technique is easy to administer, reliable, and warrants further investigation with regard to its use for rehabilitation of patients who are experiencing posttraumatic chronic neuropathies of the chest wall.

'True' intercostal hernias, that is, those containing both pleura and lung components, occur infrequently. Only 300 cases have been reported since Rolland's initial description in 1499. Rarer still are intercostal muscle hernias, which occur without containing pulmonary components. In both instances, males predominate, usually a consequence of direct blunt chest trauma. In many instances, recognition of the intercostal muscle hernia may be delayed from weeks to months, its diagnosis masked by more obvious evidence of physical trauma.

Unlabelled: This technique represents a surgical adjunct for the management of chronic, localized pain in patients who continue to have pain despite exhaustive prior evaluation and treatment. The patient-guided approach was used in 10 patients referred with "intractable pain" and yielded good to excellent results in all but one patient. When applied selectively to cases with significantly distorted anatomy or previous failed interventions, this simple technique can minimize dissection and unnecessary resection, while offering relief to a patient population otherwise resigned to a life with chronic pain., Clinical Question/level of Evidence: Therapeutic, V.

Background: Postoperative breast pain is a frequent complaint, reported by 50 percent of women following a breast procedure. Breast pain interferes with sexual activity, as reported by 48 percent of patients, exercise (36 percent), social activity (13 percent), and employment (6 percent)., Methods: To define neurogenic causes of chronic postoperative breast pain, the authors performed a retrospective review of consecutive patients from a single surgeon and performed 10 anatomical bilateral dissections. The authors evaluated the most commonly injured nerves, based on zone of injury, injury type, and precedent breast procedure. Dissections referenced the zone of injury with the specific procedure and designated the individual nerves at risk., Results: The authors identified 57 patients with chronic breast pain from breast reconstruction (n = 38), reduction (n = 2), mastopexy (n = 2), augmentation (n = 4) and irradiation (n = 11). On the basis of anatomic innervation, the authors designated five zones of nerve injury: superior, medial, inferior, lateral, and central/nipple-areola complex. The lateral zone was most commonly injured (79 percent), followed by inferior (10.5 percent), medial (5 percent), central (3.5 percent), and superior (2 percent) zones. Forty-two patients suffered intercostal nerve neuromas from mechanical nerve trauma/entrapment, with pain at the surgical scar or nearby tissue dissection. Four patients with traction-stretch neuropathy had pain from blunt augmentation pocket dissection. Eleven patients with irradiation-induced neuropathy had diffuse, nonlocalized nerve pain., Conclusions: By shifting the approach to chronic breast pain from "global chronic breast pain" to defined danger zones of nerve injury, the practitioner can identify the type of nerve injury and associate the most common nerve injury to a given breast procedure. This approach should assist in diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately improve patient morbidity.

An anatomical study of the passage of the implant placed around thoracic transverse process was undertaken in human cadavers to investigate the safety of thoracic transverse process fixation. A simulated surgical procedure for implant placement around the transverse processes of T1-T10 was carried out in eight fresh human cadavers using a mock plastic implant, 7.0 mm wide and 1.5 mm thick. A total of 80 implanted thoracic vertebrae were dissected systematically. One implanted spinal column was sectioned sagittally through the costotransverse space. The parietal pleura, the intercostal vessels, and intercostal nerves were not injured by the implants in any of the specimens. All the implants were located posterior to the intercostal nerves and vessels, lateral to the pedicles, and outside the spinal canal. The transverse processes of T1-T10 are safe structures for implant anchorage in posterior spinal instrumentation.