Abstract
Abdominal and thoracic surgical procedures can result in significant acute postoperative pain. Present evidence shows that postoperative pain management remains inadequate especially after "minor" surgical procedures. Various therapeutic options including regional anesthesia techniques and systemic pharmacotherapy are available for effective treatment of postoperative pain. This work summarizes the pathophysiological background of postoperative pain after abdominal and thoracic surgery and discusses the indication, effectiveness, risks, and benefits of the different therapeutic options. Special focus is given to the controversial debate about the indication for epidural analgesia, as well as various alternative therapeutic options, including transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block, paravertebral block (PVB), wound infiltration with local anesthetics, and intravenous lidocaine. In additional, indications and contraindications of nonopioid analgesics after abdominal and thoracic surgery are discussed and recommendations based on scientific evidence and individual risk and benefit analysis are made. All therapeutic options discussed are eligible for clinical use and may contribute to improve postoperative pain outcome after abdominal and thoracic surgical procedures.
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