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Background and Aims Effective postoperative pain management is crucial for pediatric patients undergoing thoracic surgery, in terms of early discharge time and reducing the risk of complications.

Methods After approval of ethic commitee (2024/58), between April 01, 2023 and April 01, 2024, pediatric patients who underwent thoracotomy were listed and retrospective data were obtained. Demographic data, type of surgery, duration of surgery, postoperative pain modality, pain scores within 24 hours, hospital discharge time were recorded from the patients‘ files.

Results A total of 18 patients, 66.7% (12) male and 33.3% (6) female, were included in the study. The ages of the patients ranged from 0.1 (28 days) to 17 years with a mean age of 11 years and a median age of 14 years. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was performed in 77.8% and thoracotomy in 22.2%. The most common indications for surgery were bulla excision with 44.5% (8 patients), diagnostic thoracoscopy with 16.7% and empyema drainage and hydatid cyst with 11.1%. Postoperative block was performed in 38.9%, erector spina plane block in 71.4% and serratus anterior procedure in 28.6%. The 1st, 6th, 12th and 24th hour resting VAS scores of the patients who underwent block procedure decreased over time, while dexmedotomidine infusion and ketamine infusion were given to two patients who could not be evaluated. Post-op discharge time (days) and length of hospital stay were 7 (2-30), 11 days (3-59) (median, min-max), respectively.

Conclusions Further research and implementation of tailored pain management protocols are warranted to enhance postoperative recovery and overall patient satisfaction in this population.