Treatment of Postoperative Pain with Thoracic Epidural Morphine in Oral Malignant Tumor Patients

CASE REPORT:Thoracic epidural morphine was administered to five patients who underwent radical resection and reconstructive surgery for oral malignant tumors. METHODS AND RESULTS:In case 1, an epidural catheter was inserted at the T3-T4 interspace, and 4 mg morphine was administered through the catheter ≈5 h before the end of surgery. Forty-five minutes after the end of surgery, a total of 10 mg morphine was continuously infused over a 2-day period using a balloon infusion system. The patient did not complain of pain, and no other analgesics were necessary. There were no serious side effects throughout the treatment of postoperative pain. Good control of pain was obtained by this method in four similar cases. CONCLUSION:Thoracic epidural morphine was effective in the relief of post-operative pain following oral surgery in five cases.