How Acute Postoperative Pain Impacts Patient Satisfaction After Lower Limb Fracture Surgery: A 14-Day Follow-Up Study

These findings indicate that pain reduction alone does not exclusively drive satisfaction. Instead, satisfaction appears to be heavily influenced by the type of fixation, effective perioperative communication, and the patient's psychological adaptation over time. However, the association found between fixation type and satisfaction could be highly confounded by underlying fracture severity. Prioritizing patient education may be more effective than focusing solely on absolute pain scores for enhancing the patient experience. The complexity and sequelae of the initial trauma may be the key drivers of long-term patient dissatisfaction rather than the choice of anesthesia/analgesia.