Background: Postoperative analgesia is an important aspect of anesthesia care since pain problems affect both physical and mental derangement, resulting in delayed recovery. A multimodal perioperative Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols are therefore designed in order to assist patients achieve early recovery after surgery. Standardized analgesic, anesthetic regimens and early mobilization from anesthesia help patients go through the crisis of operation safely. Anesthesia team has also played an important role in taking care of the patients from analgesia. Transversus Abdominis Plane block (TAP block) can be performed in the abdominal wall area and can be done by ultrasound-guided technique. The TAP block is a peripheral nerve block designed to anesthetize the nerves supplying the anterior abdominal wall. Nowadays, the TAP block proves to reduce the need for postoperative opioid use, increases the time to first request for further analgesia, and provides more effective pain relief, while decreasing opioid related side effects such as sedation and postoperative nausea and vomiting. Realizing the need to create an innovation, Ramathibodi Hospital anesthesia team has introduced the RAMA TAP block sheet, which is a clear plastic sheet with two squares holes. Using this innovation, the anesthesiologist can see both sides of abdominal walls as well as the midline of abdomen, which allow them to clearly locate a good injection site with local anesthetic to skin.
Objective: To create the RAMA TAP block sheet from a clear plastic sheet which has two squares holes for the anesthesiologist to practice TAP block and make the procedure more convenient.
Results: The RAMA TAP block sheet is an invention for TAP block procedure which reduces the chance of infection from surgical dressings, increases safety, improves anesthetic service quality and normalizes patient’s normothermia from outside environment. Patient’s satisfaction on postoperative analgesia has been positive as well as faster rate of recovery after surgery. Another benefit of this invention is to reduce patient’s financial cost. The anesthesiologist’s satisfaction is 99%.
Conclusion: The RAMA TAP block sheet is an inexpensive, practical and highly efficient invention that could be sterilized. This invention is the pride of the Anesthesiology Department that really saves the expenses, so it had received Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) award from 24th Quality Conference (24-25 August 2017), Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok. (Jiarpinitnun J., Arnuntasupakul V. and Tongtokit K., The RAMA TAP block sheet petty patent number 1803000510, Department of intellectual property, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, (2018), 18 pages.)
