Abstract

Postoperative pain in abdominal surgery causes pulmonary and vascular complications by delaying the mobilization of the patient and limiting inspiration. In 1991, patients at the İstanbul Faculty of Medicine Department of General Surgery, Section E were given epidural fentanyl (27 patients; 0.5mg) subcutaneous bupivakain (30 patients, 75mg) or intramuscular meperidine (25 patients, 50mg). Ten patients with respiratory problems or with a high probability of having respiratory problems were selected from each group and pulmonary function tests were applied. Blood gases were measured in all patients pre- and postoperatively. It was observed that analgesia achieved with epidural fentanyl is superior to the two other modalities as measured by respiratory parameters.