Postoperative Thoracic Epidural Analgesia Versus Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia For Liver and/or Pancreas

Intravenous analgesia delivered prior to surgery, then patient-controlled following surgical procedures.

Thoracic epidurals (needle inserted into the space between the covering of spinal cord and the cord itself) placed preoperatively in either the holding area or in the operating room.

Questions measure how quickly participant recovers from sedation Day 1 through Day 5 after surgery; approximately 20-40 minutes.

Hourly post surgery rating level of pain on a scale of 0-10.