1. The incidence of severe postoperative pain in the recovery room occurs in 1 out every 6 patients.
2. Many of these same patients will still have severe pain at 24 hours postoperatively
3. Inadequate postoperative pain relief is a cause of and is associated with the development of chronic pain
4. Inadequate postoperative pain relief serves to augment , increase or amplify the pain signals that travel from the skin to the spinal cord as well as the signals which travel from the spinal cord to the brain
5. Certain drugs given immediately preoperatively before surgery, can reduce postoperative pain in a preventive or preemptive fashion
6. These drugs include such things as acetaminophen (Tylenol), celecoxib (Celebrex) and gabapentin (Neurontin)
7. Regional nerve blocks such as the use of an injection of local anesthetics in and around the nerves in the shoulder for upper extremity surgery or the use of a local anesthetic administered into the spinal canal for lower extremity surgery is useful to diminish the likelihood of a significant exacerbation of your CRPS pain following surgery
8.You should feel free to discuss these things with your surgeon and anesthesiologist
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Algorithm for Perioperative Management of CRPS Patients
