Incidence of Chronic Pain After Thoracic Surgery

Thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery procedures are frequently performed in thoracic surgery. It is widely accepted that thoracotomy causes severe acute pain. This prolongs the discharge time of the patients, and increases the frequency of postoperative pulmonary complications and postoperative morbidity. Postoperative acute pain may cause chronic thoracotomy pain in the later period, and may adversely affect the quality of life of the patients. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has become the standard procedure in minor and major lung surgeries. Postoperative pain is seen in patients undergoing VATS, although it is not as severe as after thoracotomy. As in thoracotomy, this affects the postoperative pulmonary complications and the discharge time of the patients. Likewise, this pain can cause chronic pain. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the symptoms of chronic pain in the 3rd and 6th months postoperatively in patients who had undergone thoracic surgery.