Papers of the Week

Chronic post-thoracotomy pain (PTPS) is a frequent complication of thoracic operations. Sometimes the pain is excruciating enough to impair activities of daily living (ADL). All thoracic procedures have the potential to cause trauma to the intercostal nerves due to retractor use, chest closure techniques, and or wound healing. In our study, we analyzed the microscopic aspects of the nerves involved in the healing process, to better understand the histopathology of chronic pain.