Peripheral electrical nerve stimulation in chronic post-surgical pain: Let’s try!

Abstract

Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) is a common complication after surgery, which has significant effects on quality of life with restriction of activities of daily living, and it is associated with increased analgesic use. The incidence of CPSP has wide variations among different surgical procedures and this can be due to difference in definition of CPSP and small sample size studies. The mechanisms of CPSP are complex, poorly understood, and many patients show neuropathic pain features. CPSP is often refractory to medical and interventional management and it may have profound consequences for the quality of life of the patient. Percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS) can be an effective treatment for management of neuropathic pain and may be a viable treatment option that should be considered when other treatments fail. The aim of these case reports is to encourage the use of PENS in the management of CPSP and to motivate further studies on the use of PENS in this field. We present a case report of two patients with CPSP and features of neuropathic pain, refractory to other pharmacological treatments and successfully treated with one-day trial of PENS.

The aim of this article is to underline the possible role of Peripheral Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS) in the management of Chronic Post-Surgical Pain and to encourage further studies on the use of PENS in this field.