Painful scars after thoracic and abdominal surgery.

: Painful scars after thoracic or abdominal surgery were treated in 37 patients with various methods, including analgesic block, transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TNS), neurotomy, scar resection, epidural spinal electrical stimulation and thermocoagulation. At follow-up, three patients were free from pain and three experienced significantly less pain as a result of the treatment. In two other patients the pain had spontaneously diminished. The results indicate that surgery on peripheral structures is not effective, which suggests that the source of the pain is to be found in central structures. The authors advocate conservative measures such as blockade, TNS and physiotherapy in combination with psychologic support.