How long does surgical incision pain usually last?

Post-operative incisional pain is inevitable and generally begins to increase 6 hours after surgery when the effects of anesthetic drugs wear off. The degree of pain is related to the extent of the surgical injury, the size and location of the incision, and the patient’s psychological state and tolerance level. In general, surgical incision pain usually subsides within a week or so, while some patients may experience longer periods of relief. Nowadays, surgeons will choose pain pumps or pain medications to reduce the pain level of the incision after surgery, so as to reduce the patient’s pain and facilitate the recovery after surgery. If the incision is still painful after a week, the wound healing should be checked as soon as possible to determine whether there is a possibility of incisional infection, and if the incision is infected, anti-infection treatment is needed, timely incision and drainage, and enhanced drug changes are beneficial to pain relief. If the inflammation of the incision is more serious and does not heal for a long time, you need to go to the hospital in time. In addition, patients need to take oral anti-inflammatory drugs routinely for one week after surgery, pay attention to rest and avoid excessive exercise during the healing period of the surgical incision, eat a light diet, avoid the intake of spicy and stimulating food, and eat more high-protein food to facilitate wound healing and reduce the chance of infection.