Abstract
Postoperative epidural analgesia has been a standard in postoperative pain control in recent years. However, its use has gradually decreased due to the introduction of postoperative anticoagulant therapy. Epidural analgesia provides better postoperative pain relief than do systemic opioids, and it has beneficial effects on homeostasis in the endocrine system and on overall immune function. Moreover, epidural analgesia may contribute to the reduction of postoperative respiratory complications. Recently, ropivacaine and levobupivacaine have been recommended as local anesthetics, and patient-controlled epidural analgesia has been shown to be superior to continuous infusion.
