The use of epidural morphine to decrease postoperative pain in patients undergoing lumbar laminectomy.

In a double-blind study of fifty patients that was done to test the ability of epidural morphine to decrease the discomfort after lumbar laminectomy, we found that during the first postoperative day the patient's pain was lessened appreciably but that the total dose of morphine received postoperatively was not diminished. We used a three-milligram dose of epidural morphine, and there were no problems with respiratory depression. The addition of epinephrine to the morphine solution had no beneficial effect.