1. Pain Management in Four-Limb Amputation: A Case Report.
- Author
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Warner NS, Warner MA, Moeschler SM, and Hoelzer BC
- Subjects
- Acute Pain diagnosis, Acute Pain surgery, Acute Pain therapy, Analgesia, Epidural methods, Analgesics therapeutic use, Analgesics, Opioid therapeutic use, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Nerve Block methods, Pain Measurement methods, Pain, Postoperative diagnosis, Pain, Postoperative etiology, Phantom Limb diagnosis, Phantom Limb etiology, Phantom Limb surgery, Phantom Limb therapy, Amputation, Surgical adverse effects, Hand surgery, Lower Extremity surgery, Pain Management methods, Pain, Postoperative therapy
- Abstract
Acute pain following amputation can be challenging to treat due to multiple underlying mechanisms and variable clinical responses to treatment. Furthermore, poorly controlled preoperative pain is a risk factor for developing chronic pain. Evidence suggests that epidural analgesia and peripheral nerve blockade may decrease the severity of residual limb pain and the prevalence of phantom pain after lower extremity amputation. We present the perioperative analgesic management of a patient with gangrene of the bilateral upper and lower extremities as a result of septic shock and prolonged vasopressor administration who underwent four-limb amputation in a single procedure. A multimodal analgesic regimen was utilized, including titration of preoperative opioid and neuropathic pain agents, perioperative intravenous, epidural and peripheral nerve catheter infusions, and postoperative oral medication titration. More than 8 months postoperatively, the patient has satisfactory pain control with no evidence for phantom limb pain. To our knowledge, there have been no publications to date concerning analgesic regimens in four-limb amputation., (© 2015 World Institute of Pain.)
- Published
- 2015
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