Pain control for thoracotomy

Pain control after thoracotomy.

Post Thoracotomy Pain Syndrome

Post-thoracotomy pain is one of the most severe and long lasting complications after surgery (1-4) which acutely contributes to limit normal respiratory activity impairing the sputum clearance and reducing ventilatory function (5). Along with limb amputation, thoracotomy is the surgical procedure with the highest risk of severe and long lasting acute postoperative pain (6). Moreover, a chronic ...

Post Thoracotomy Pain Management

Introduction The pathway of a pain impulse starts with the primary afferent nerve fibers (C and Aδ) whose axons end in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Nociceptive information is passed to the contralateral side of the spinal cord and, after synapsing, ascends in the anterolateral system as spinothalamic tracts. The primary areas of the brain that respond to pain stimuli are the somatosensor...

Role of cryoanalgesia in the control of pain after thoracotomy.

Thoracotomy causes severe postoperative pain, which is difficult to manage since the use of systemic analgesics often causes respiratory depression. Cryoanalgesia of the intercostal nerves has been advocated as an effective means of local analgesia without serious side effects. A prospective randomised blind trial to investigate the efficacy of the technique was carried out. A total of 53 patie...

Acute pain management for patients undergoing thoracotomy.

Management of thoracotomy pain can be difficult, but the benefits of effective pain control are significant. A variety of modalities for treating postoperative pain after thoracotomy are available, including systemic opiates, regional analgesics, and new oral and parenteral agents. This work provides a review of the literature and recommendations for the clinician.