Pre-Emptive Analgesia for Elective Maxillofacial Surgery Using 0.25% Bupivacaine

Abstract

The efficacy of 0.25% bupivacaine as a pre-emptive analgesic agent was evaluated in a prospective case control study - a group of patients undergoing elective orthognathic surgery against a matched control group. Bupivacaine was administered as a series of nerve blocks prior to the incision for the surgery. Outcome variables measured were postoperative pain by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, need and amount of rescue analgesics and the incidence of known complications associated with these agents. The VAS score was significantly lower in the group receiving pre-emptive analgesia for upto 40 hours postoperatively, (P0.05). Bupivacaine can be used for pre-emptive analgesia in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Keywords

• Pre-emptive analgesia
• Bupivacaine
• Orthognathic surgery
• Preincisional nerve blocks