Publications on post-thoracotomy pain control obtained by Medline search were reviewed from June 1997 to July 1998. The main focus points in the past year were the effect of new surgical techniques on analgesia after thoracic surgery and the use of extrapleural catheters in the paravertebral space as a method of continuous intercostal nerve block. Epidural and patient-controlled analgesia techniques are still widely used and are mostly effective, but some patients may still have unacceptable levels of pain in the first 24 hours. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol 12:55-58.