Preventive Analgesia and Other Concepts in Pain Management for Arthroplasty

Anesthesia and analgesia for hip and knee arthroplasty can be challenging. If we could see the future, we would get it right every time! But we are not quite there yet, are we? A variety of analgesic drugs and interventions is nowadays at our disposal, all of which having their pros and cons. Further, we know every patient can react differently to pain medication and expression of pain also differs. When evolving into a fast-track arthroplasty practice, we must choose wisely to offer a better and safer surgery to our patients. In order to do so, important concepts from pain medicine are reviewed in this chapter. Historical perspective is also taken into account.