Background. We reviewed the efficacy of intraoperative intercostal nerve cryoanalgesia for pain control in patients undergoing descending and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repairs.Methods. During 2013 and 2017, 241 patients underwent descending and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Of those, 38 patients were treated with intraoperative cryoanalgesia to the intercostal nerves at the level of 4th to 10th under electromyography guidance and were compared with patients who did not receive cryoanalgesia. Both groups received multilevel paravertebral block and local infiltration with liposomal bupivacaine. Numerical pain scale scores and amount of opioid usage in morphine milligram equivalences on the first to fourth and eighth postoperative days were collected. We excluded patients from the study who were extubated after the third postoperative day or who were reintubated.Results. One hundred twenty-six patients met the inclusion criteria: 28 in the cryoanalgesia group and 98 in the control group. Preoperative patient demographics
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.