Numerous studies have shown that regional anesthesia and analgesia, particularly neural blockade, produce a host of benefits for surgical patients, including improved GI and pulmonary function, decreased cardiovascular demands, and superior pain relief.2, 7, 17, 21 and 27 Perhaps the most important benefit is the prolonged and significant reduction in the stress response when epidural anesthesia is followed postoperatively by continuous epidural analgesia with local anesthetics for 24 to 72 hours.21 and 28 Mortality can be influenced as well; a 5% random sampling of Medicare beneficiaries over a four-year period revealed that postoperative epidural analgesia may contribute to lower risk of death after surgery.