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Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

Become a Member
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

Membership Benefits
ACS

How to Safely Manage Pain After Surgery

How to Safely Manage Pain After Surgery

The Best Recovery Is a Safe Recovery

Managing pain helps to speed recovery following your operation. Your surgical team wants to help you to safely and effectively manage any pain that you may have after surgery. "Safe pain control" means using medication and other therapies to manage pain with the least amount of side effects.

How Surgeons Are Addressing the Opioid Epidemic

Surgeons and all physicians are now screening their patients prior to opioid administration using the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Alternatives to opioids are being used and the amount and dose of opioid pills prescribed to patients is lower when appropriate. Numerous studies are underway monitoring the number of pills used by patients and their pain scores to better match pain control options for specific operations and avoid any excess opioid use (Hill MV, et al. 2018; Howard R, et al. 2018). Below are additional educational and leadership strategies for surgeons:

The General Surgeon’s Role in Enhancing Patient Education About Prescription Opioids

Surgical Leadership Is Required to Reverse the Opioid Crisis

Professional Resources for Surgeons

We have educational programs, professional resources, research news, even opportunities to get involved—all in an effort to promote safe pain control post-surgery.

See What’s Available

Our Opioid Task Force

Meet the professionals dedicated to safe and effective pain control.

Our Taskforce

 

This section of the American College of Surgeons website has been developed so you can learn more about safe pain control after your operation. If you have any questions after reading through this material, don’t hesitate to ask your surgeon.