Opioid-Sparing Pain Management in Upper Extremity Surgery: Part 2: Surgeon as Prescriber.

Abstract

A multimodal pain management strategy combines complementary medications and techniques, targeting unique pathways, to improve overall analgesic effect and reduce opioid requirements. In this 2-part review, we examine the literature identifying nonopioid analgesic modalities and their targets in the pain pathway as well as anesthetic techniques found to be opioid sparing in the practice of upper extremity surgery. Part 1 focused on operative anesthesia and analgesia. In part 2, we discuss the nonopioid options available after surgery and explore areas for future investigation specific to upper extremity surgery.