Pain following Craniotomy: Reassessment of the Available Options

• Main Authors: Rudrashish Haldar, Ashutosh Kaushal, Devendra Gupta, Shashi Srivastava, Prabhat K. Singh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
• Series: BioMed Research International
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/509164

Pain following craniotomy has frequently been neglected because of the notion that postcraniotomy patients do not experience severe pain. However a gradual change in this outlook is observed because of increased sensitivity of neuroanaesthesiologists and neurosurgeons toward acute postcraniotomy pain. Multiple modalities exist for treating this variety of pain each with its own share of advantages and disadvantages. However, individually none of these modalities has been proclaimed as the best and applicable universally. A considerable amount of dispute remains to ascertain the appropriate therapeutic regimen for treating postcraniotomy pain in spite of numerous trials using different drugs and their combinations. This review aims to highlight the genesis, characteristics, and different strategies that are undertaken for management of acute postcraniotomy pain. Chronic postcraniotomy pain which can be debilitating sequelae is also discussed concisely.