Pain after sternotomy - review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Adequate analgesia after sternotomy reduces postoperative adverse events. There are various methods of treating pain after heart surgery, such as infiltration with a local anesthetic, nerve block, opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alpha-adrenergic agents, intrathecal and epidural techniques, and multimodal analgesia. CONTENT: A review of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of pain after sternotomy. We also discuss the various analgesic therapeutic modalities, emphasizing advantages and disadvantages of each technique. CONCLUSIONS: Heart surgery is performed mainly via medium sternotomy, which results in significant postoperative pain and a non-negligible incidence of chronic pain. Effective pain control improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. There is no clearly superior technique. It is believed that a combined multimodal analgesic regimen (using different techniques) is the best approach for treating postoperative pain, maximizing analgesia and reducing side effects.