Pain Medicine News featured a study by HSS anesthesiologist Semih Gungor, MD, who investigated persistent post-surgical pain in patients who underwent a total knee replacement.

The research, which was presented at the 2018 World Congress on Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, found that nearly one-third of patients developed excessive, long-term chronic pain after the procedure.

"Patients undergo this surgery to relieve their pain and to have a better quality of life, but if pain continues to be a problem, then finding high-risk patients preoperatively and treating their pain adequately before they go into surgery is critical to prevent chronic postoperative pain," said Dr. Gungor.

"A prospective randomized trial is needed in the future to determine the long-term effects of peripheral nerve blocks performed," he added.

This article appeared in the September 2018 print issue.