Postoperative pain control in ambulatory surgery

Optimizing postoperative pain control is the key to further advancement in the field of ambulatory anesthesia. This article outlines the evidence for multimodal analgesia, pre-emptive analgesia, and analgesic techniques specific to common outpatient surgical procedures. Uncommon nonpharmacologic techniques and new opioid delivery systems are reviewed. Multimodal analgesia provides superior analgesia with a lower side-effect profile. Preoperative administration of analgesia decreases the requirement of intraoperative analgesics, leading to a smooth and rapid recovery. New, portable analgesic delivery systems may be the future for postoperative pain management in ambulatory anesthesia.