Introduction: Effective post-operative pain management can positively influence patient outcome. Multimodal analgesic regimes are often limited by side-effects. Epidural analgesia may be resource-consuming, restrict mobility and have negative cardiovascular and gastrointestinal consequences. Consequently, there is a need for regional anaesthetic techniques to minimise opioid use, and provide alternatives to epidurals, especially within the context of minimally invasive abdominal surgery and enhanced recovery programmes. This review aims to evaluate the evidence base underlying Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blockade.
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