POSTOPERATIVE ANALGESIA: A LOCAL SOLUTION

A simple, safe, and effective technique of postop analgesia using wound perfusion with bupivacaine 0.25% via an indwelling intracatheter inserted in the depth of the wound was carried out on 25 ASA grade I/II patients of varying age groups reporting for a variety of surgical procedures. The first dose was given prior to shifting the patient from the OT. Subsequent doses were administered on patient demand basis. The intracatheter was kept in position for 48–72 hours postop. An analysis was made on the patients'' pain relief using a visual analogue scale, dose/frequency of bupivacaine required, dose/type of supplemental analgesia needed, haemodynamic changes during infiltration, wound healing, and patient satisfaction. In this study only 12% of patients required opioids on Day One postoperatively. There were no adverse effects of infiltration either systemically or on wound healing, and all the patients had excellent postop analgesia.KEY WORDS: Analgesia, Bupivacaine, Postoperative, VAS