Transversus abdominis plane block does not provide additional benefit to multimodal analgesia in gynecological cancer surgery.

Background: The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is a recently described technique involving injecting local anesthetic between the internal oblique and transversus abdominis layers of the abdominal wall. It has been shown to be effective in reducing morphine consumption and improving postoperative pain relief in several clinical settings.

Methods: We performed a randomized placebo-controlled trial comparing bilateral ultrasound-guided TAP blocks (2 x 20 mL 0.