Efficacy of postoperative continuous wound infiltration with local anesthetic after major abdominal surgery.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy, safety, opioid sparing effects and improvement of respiratory function when using 0.2% ropivacaine continuous wound infiltration after major intra-abdominal surgery. Forty patients undergoing major intra-abdominal surgery requiring a midline incision of > or = 20 cm were enrolled into this IRB-approved, randomized, prospective controlled study.