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Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

Become a Member
ACS Home
Donate to the foundation
Quality Programs
For Medical Professionals
For Patients
Advocacy & Policy
About Us
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

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ACS
Safe Pain Control

How to Control Pain Safely

Opioid Abuse and Surgery

How to Control Pain Safely

The Best Recovery Is a Safe Recovery

Controlling pain helps to speed recovery following your operation. Your surgical team wants to help you to safely and effectively manage any pain that you may have after surgery. “Safe pain control” means using medication and other therapies to control pain with the least amount of side effects.

Safe Pain Control

Common Questions, Important Answers

Find answers to common questions about safe and effective pain control after surgery.

Our FAQs is a must-read prior to surgery. Not only does it answer common questions, it also includes a Pain Management Guide for mild, mild-to-moderate, and severe pain to help in the recovery process.

View Questions
Common Questions, Important Answers

Safe Pain Control For Adults

View our brochure on safe and effective pain control after surgery for adults.

View Brochure

Pain Control After Surgery for Women

View our brochure on safe and effective pain control after surgery for women.

View Brochure

My Pain Plan

Keep track of your pain before and after surgery with our interactive pain plan management tool.

My Pain Plan

How to Safely and Effectively Manage Pain

Watch our video to learn how to safely manage your pain at home following surgery.

Patient Evaluation

You and your family are important members of the surgical team. 4 to 5 days following your operation please complete an optional, short survey about your pain. You will be asked about how you managed your pain at home.

Additional Resources

(Please note that by clicking on the links below, you will be leaving the American College of Surgeons website to view content on external websites.)

Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know

Opioid Risk Tool (screening form to assess risk of misuse)

Help and Treatment with Opioid Misuse or Abuse (addiction or dependence)

National Institute of Drug Abuse Opioids Resource Page

CDC's Opioids for Acute Pain. What You Need to Know.

How Surgeons Are Addressing the Opioid Epidemic

Surgeons and all physicians are now screening their patients prior to opioid administration using the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Alternatives to opioids are being used and the amount and dose of opioid pills prescribed to patients is lower when appropriate. Numerous studies are underway monitoring the number of pills used by patients and their pain scores to better match pain control options for specific operations and avoid any excess opioid use (Hill MV, et al. 2018; Howard R, et al. 2018). Below are additional educational and leadership strategies for surgeons:

The General Surgeon’s Role in Enhancing Patient Education About Prescription Opioids

Surgical Leadership Is Required to Reverse the Opioid Crisis

Professional Resources for Surgeons

We have educational programs, professional resources, research news, even opportunities to get involved—all in an effort to promote safe pain control post-surgery.

See What’s Available

Our Opioid Task Force

Meet the professionals dedicated to safe and effective pain control.

Our Taskforce

 

This section of the American College of Surgeons website has been developed so you can learn more about safe pain control after your operation. If you have any questions after reading through this material, don’t hesitate to ask your surgeon.