The British journal of ophthalmology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Vitreoretinal surgery: pre-emptive analgesia.
Vitrectomies are performed either under general anesthesia (GA), local anesthesia (LA), or a combination of both. Postoperative pain is expected to be less in patients with LA because of prolonged action of the local anaesthetic. Pre-emptive analgesia is based on the idea that analgesia initiated before a nociceptive event will be more effective than analgesia commenced afterwards. The authors compared postoperative analgesia in patients with GA combined with preoperative or postoperative LA. ⋯ The authors conclude that LA alone or preoperatively in addition to GA provides the best comfort for the patient in vitreoretinal surgery.