Plastic Surgery Patient Expectations for Postoperative Opioid Prescriptions

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Pain Management
• Public Health

Background:

• The opioid epidemic is a significant healthcare crisis driven by overprescribing of analgesics.
• Patient expectations regarding pain management and opioid use in plastic surgery remain poorly understood.
• This study addresses the gap in knowledge concerning plastic surgery patients' expectations for postoperative pain and opioid use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient expectations of postoperative pain intensity.
• To assess patient concerns regarding opioid dependence.
• To understand anticipated analgesic plans after plastic surgery procedures.

Main Methods:

• Prospective enrollment of new patients at an academic plastic surgery clinic (November 2017–September 2018).
• Preconsultation survey on pain history, anticipated postoperative pain, and analgesic regimens.
• Comparison of responses between patients expecting and not expecting postoperative opioids using descriptive and univariate analyses.

Main Results:

• 168 patients completed the survey across various plastic surgery subspecialties.
• Twenty-eight percent of patients expected opioid prescriptions post-surgery.
• Patients expecting opioids anticipated greater pain, were more concerned about pain, expected longer opioid use, and showed less interest in nonnarcotic alternatives.

Conclusions:

• Less than one-third of surveyed plastic surgery patients anticipate needing opioid pain medications.
• Findings support the expanded use of nonopioid, multimodal pain management strategies.
• Addressing patient pain expectations preoperatively offers an opportunity to educate on nonopioid benefits and minimize opioid prescribing.