Perioperative Management of a Patient Receiving Suboxone

Abstract

The use of Suboxone in the treatment of opioid addition and/or chronic pain is gaining popularity, and these patients are presenting for surgery more frequently than ever before. The perioperative case management of these patients is complex, especially when they present for elective outpatient surgical procedures.^1,3,4,5 This case study evaluated the techniques utilized for analgesia during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative period for a patient undergoing a total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Analysis of this case and a review of complementary research articles, revealed that perioperative continuation of suboxone therapy paired with administration of a multimodal analgesia technique, resulted in higher patient satisfaction ratings, a decreased length of hospital stay, and a reduced incidence of chronic pain develop.^1,2,3,4,5 These findings are limited to outpatient surgical procedures when postoperative pain is expected to be mild/moderate thus, it is imperative that the anesthesia plan be tailored to the individual patient and surgical procedure after analysis of the risks vs benefits profile.