The emphasis on better pain control with less narcotic use represents an ongoing challenge for outpatient plastic surgery procedures.

Intravenous (IV) bolus opioids during surgery can lead to short-term relief, but often repeat dosing is required in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), prolonging recovery time.

The sufentanil sublingual tablet (SST) has recently shown efficacy in reducing overall opioid use and postsurgical recovery time for outpatient general surgery procedures.

Objectives: To examine the effect of SST on PACU opioid use, adverse events, and recovery time compared with traditional IV opioid drug regimens in patients undergoing aesthetic surgical procedures.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on SST patients (n = 61) receiving a single 30 mcg SST 30 minutes before surgery (for short procedures) or 45 minutes before surgical extubation (longer procedures). A control group (n = 32) underwent similar surgical procedures utilizing standard IV opioid treatment without SST.