Chronic pain after surgery

Chronic pain after surgery is an area of considerable interest. Sufferers of chronic pain experience a poor quality of life, and the economic costs of treatment of the condition and resulting disability are high.Factors such as severe preoperative pain, psychosocial factors and particular surgical procedures have been identified as risk factors.Neuropathic mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of chronic post-surgical pain and our understanding of this continues to grow. Much interest has focussed on perioperative analgesic interventions to reduce the incidence and severity, however as yet the evidence is neither compelling nor consistent. At present there remains a need for education of the medical profession and the public of the risks of chronic post-surgical pain, so that unnecessary or inappropriate operations are minimized.