[Pathogenesis of postoperative pain and treatment options]

This article is a review of acute postoperative pain pathogenesis and treatment options. It is aimed at clinicians involved in postoperative pain management, for better understanding of the pain treatment strategy. Every procedure of antinociception should include modulation of different target points, because acute pain mechanisms and origins are different. There are three main intervention levels: peripheral, spinal and supraspinal. We should choose analgesics with two or more intervention levels simultaneously as well as combination of analgesics with different target points. Optimal analgesia with spinal opioids is achieved thanks to addition of supraspinal and peripheral analgesia components. It is considered that optimal acute pain treatment could prevent nerve system dysfunction and evolution of chronic pain syndromE, which is present in some of postoperative patients.