Postoperative pain medication
Question
My son will have to have orthopedic surgery. In previous surgeries he has responded poorly to codeine by becoming agitated and to morphine by staying up all night. Do you have any suggestions for postoperative pain medication to which he may respond more favorably?
Answer of our experts
My suggestion would be to utilize an epidural infusion of local anesthetic in the immediate postoperative period. The epidural catheter can be placed in the operating room after the patient is asleep. This should limit the amount of postoperative pain medications that he would need
AZ/ TK 7-13-10
Approved byClinical Advisory Board (CAB)
Answer is checked and valid for
Recommendation(s)
Pain and Behaviour
R18
As pain can easily remain unrecognised in a child with CdLS, all care providers should be aware of the different manifestations and the possible sources of pain. Specific tools to assess pain are recommended.
