# Opioid use can become long-term following surgery

Source: [Medical Xpress - latest medical and health news stories](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-opioid-term-surgery.html) · 2026-11-10 · Medicine
Page: https://themorning.science/story/opioid-use-can-become-long-term-following-surgery-8034ccb7f483f391
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- Opioids are effective for severe pain after surgery, but prolonged use is associated with risks such as dependence and overdose.
- In a thesis, Claes Gedda at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital, investigated how common long-term opioid use following surgery is.

## Why it matters

Long-term opioid use after surgery can lead to dependence and overdose, so clinicians and patients need to understand how often it occurs.

## Coverage

- [Opioid use can become long-term following surgery](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-opioid-term-surgery.html) — Medical Xpress - latest medical and health news stories, 2026-11-10

Tags: opioids, surgery, pain management, dependence, public health

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science