Pain relief from a nerve block before thymus surgery

This trial is testing a pain-relief technique called a serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block — a numbing injection guided by ultrasound that targets nerves in your chest wall — given before robotic surgery to remove your thymus gland. Half of the patients will receive the active numbing medication (bupivacaine), and half will receive a placebo (salt water), so researchers can see if the injection truly reduces pain after surgery. Everyone will also receive standard pain medications after surgery.

Robotic thymus surgery can cause significant chest pain after the operation. Researchers want to know if this targeted nerve block can reduce that pain and help patients recover better, potentially decreasing the amount of strong pain medications needed.