Preparing for Surgery

Pain Control 

Your pain management plan matters. Before surgery, your care team will talk with you about the options that work best for you.

Things to remember about pain

Pain is personal

The amount of pain you feel may not be the same as others, even if they have had the same surgery.

Bring your pain history

If you have ongoing pain, complete the Brief Pain Inventory the day before your surgery and bring it to the hospital.

Reducing pain matters

Effective pain relief is important for your recovery. Pain should not stop you from resting, breathing deeply, coughing, moving or walking.

Tell us about your pain

Read the section in Pain Management After Surgery to for tips on how to describe it.

Be open to combining pain medicines

Most patients need more than one type of medicine for the best pain control and fewer side effects. They should be used before stronger medicine like opioids.

Your plan is personalized

Other pain management methods depend on your surgery, your hospital stay and discussions with your anesthesiologist and surgeon.

Methods of pain management

For each method used, you will also receive Tylenol and an anti-inflammatory regularly, unless your care team advises otherwise. As your main pain control starts to wear off or is reduced, you may feel more pain. If needed, stronger pain medicine (opioids) will be available by mouth to help manage it.

Please read Pain Management After Surgery for more information.

PCA is a way to manage pain after surgery. You press a button on a pump to receive a small dose of pain medicine through a tube in your vein. This works quickly and helps with pain from activities like coughing, getting out of bed or walking.

Spinal anesthesia is used for surgeries on the hip, knee or lower abdomen. A thin needle is placed between the bones in the lower back into the fluid around the spinal cord, and medicine is injected. This includes local anesthetic (freezing) and opioids.

After surgery, you may feel numb and unable to move your legs for up to four hours. If a long-acting opioid is used, pain relief can last up to 24 hours.

Epidurals are used for pain after some surgeries or injuries, such as chest or bowel surgery or broken ribs. A small plastic tube is placed between the bones in the back and into the epidural space.  This is a small space close to the spinal cord.  The tube is taped to the back, covered with a dressing and attached to a pump.  The pump sends pain medicine continuously.

Medicines used for this include local anesthetic (freezing) and opioids. It is normal to feel numb near the incision. Epidurals usually stay in place for two to three days.

A nerve block uses local anesthetic to block pain signals from nerves in areas like the shoulder, arm, leg, foot or trunk. It can be a single dose or continuous. A single dose can last 12 to 24 hours.

For continuous blocks, a small tube is placed near the nerves, taped to the skin, covered with a dressing and connected to a pump that gives a steady flow of medicine. The tube usually stays in place for two to three days.