Acute postoperative pain control for children with chronic disabilities

Children have historically been undertreated for pain. Children with chronic disabilities may face multiple, complex surgeries that cause severe postoperative pain. In addition, underlying problems with increased muscle tone can cause painful postoperative spasms. Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare treats children with chronic disabilities. Our orthopaedic surgeons have developed a single surgical approach referred to as "multiple lower extremity procedures" (MLEPs) to correct the patient's primary, underlying orthopaedic deformities all under one anesthesia. Because of the intensity of postoperative pain caused by this approach, Gillette Children's uses epidural analgesia or patient-controlled/nurse-controlled analgesia to manage postoperative pain.