Pain Management for Ambulatory Surgery: What Is New?

Safe ambulatory surgery mandates the provision of an anesthetic ‘package’, or care bundle commensurate with surgery, which enables the patient (or their guardian) to manage their pain at home. Anesthesia providers must therefore plan and implement analgesic regimens that commence in the preoperative phase, continue through the intraoperative and recovery periods and into the outpatient setting. Multimodal analgesia is the mainstay of successful ambulatory surgery analgesia. A combination of opioid and nonopioid analgesics, as well as local or regional techniques is likely to ensure the best patient outcome. There is a clear trend toward more peripheral selective nerve blocks and wound infiltration.