Table 1.

Assessment of pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS) pre-operatively, at 1–2 days and at 1 month follow-up

Median time of assessment	Number of answers	Number (%) of patients reporting pain	VAS score Mean (±SD)	VAS score Min–max	Number (%) of patients with VAS score >3a
Pre-operative (15 days before surgery)	1,158	1,049 (90.6)	3.2 (±2.1)	0–10	459 (39.6)
Short-term follow-up (2 days)	1,180	1,021 (86.5)	2.3 (±1.7)	0–10	232 (19.7)
Mid-term follow-up (34 days)	1,185	341 (28.8)	1.8 (±1.2)	0–9	25 (2.1)

VAS scale: 0 = no pain, 10 = unbearable pain

^aPain >3 on the VAS is considered to be moderate or severe