New trends in the treatment of post-operative pain in general and gastrointestinal surgery

Abstract The correct application of multimodal analgesia appropriate to the pain intensity, the characteristics of the surgery, and the hospitalisation scheme provide the key to improving the management of postoperative pain, which is currently still under treated. In highly complex surgeries the best benefit is obtained by combining systemic analgesic drugs with regional analgesia techniques. Epidural analgesia, not only provides an excellent quality of analgesia, but can prevent complications and reduce postoperative morbidity. Recently, peripheral blocks and parietal infiltration techniques, with or without catheter, have gained prominence in the postoperative analgesia of haemorrhoids and hernia repair. All these analgesic techniques are integrated into the concept of early postoperative rehabilitation and pursue the objective of minimising the side effects associated with the treatment and facilitate the functional recovery of the patient. In addition, proper postoperative pain management not only increases the quality of in-patient care but is also a factor to consider in the development of chronic post-surgical pain, where the impact is significant and impairs the quality of life of the patients.