Year: 1997
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Most patients undergoing major surgery heal within weeks and do not develop long-term pain. Certain surgical procedures, however, are followed by a relatively high rate of long-term pain and discomfort. For example, follow-up studies of patients years after surgery have reported prevalence rates of 30-55 % for arm pain after axillary node dissection for breast cancer (Maunsell et al. 1993), postmastectomy scar pain (Kmner et al. 1992; Tasmuth et al. 1996), postamputation phantom limb pain, and post-thoracotomy. chest wall pain (Dajczman et al. 1991; Katz et al. 1996b). What factors are respon-sible for the transition of acute postoperative pain to chronic, intractable, pathological pain? We do not have an answer to this important question, but several recent studies point to the possibility that preoperative pain, intra-operative trauma, and in some instances acute postoperative pain may contrib-ute to the development of long-term pain problems. We need to determine the predictive aspect(s) of pain. Are predictive factors associated with the pain per se, or the patients who report the pain? Will aggressive management of
Source: YorkSpace (York University)
Author: Joel Katz
Language: English
Subfield: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G5708115768
OpenAlex ID: W2241871901