**6. Treating acute postoperative pain**

In the literature as well as in clinical practice, pain treatment is often addressed in procedures involving modern analgesia, which, in addition to the continual administering of drugs, implies the continual evaluation of pain, with the aim of titrating the administering of analgesics depending on the changes to pain intensity. All available and applied processes, whether it involves techniques for overcoming pain or administering drugs, must satisfy criteria requiring minimal negative effects on patient mobilization, which in turn means preventing the onset of expected complications and their least possible manifestation. Therefore, the basis for solving postoperative pain is preemptive action, which has the following goals:


In patients who have undergone liposuction and abdominoplasty, the expected period of the presence of pain is relatively long. Therefore, a standardized approach is used in pain management, where an important role is given to the medical nurse as part of the team. It is necessary to do the following:


Administering analgesics mostly implies the use of opioids. Opioid analgesics have quite a wide range of difficulties and complications, and their use requires educated personnel, in order to achieve the best effect with minimal side effects. Opioid doses used to act on acute postoperative pain are very low; hence, the negative effects are minimal to almost unnoticeable, whereas the internal of administering them is varied depending on the evaluation, which in the first hours is measured in intervals for at most one hour.

Doses are repeated until the desired effect is achieved, and the level of pain is reduced to under level 3 on the VAS scale of 10. The prescribed algorithm for administering drugs given estimates based on the VAS scale is as follows:


• Level 3—pain on the VAS scale amounting to between 7 and 10—strong opioids, non-opioids, and adjuvant drugs.

According to this model of levels, the principles in administering drugs are as follows:


Among the non-pharmacological techniques in treating postoperative pain, a psychological approach has been proven to be adequate by reducing anxiety and fear as well as preventing sleep disorders, and also contributing to the well psychological condition of the patient.

The psychological approach is achieved through the following:

