Heart surgery without opioids: safer or not?

This study reviewed the records of 1772 adults who had heart surgery with a heart-lung machine. Researchers compared those who received opioid-free anesthesia (using lidocaine and other drugs) to those who got standard opioid anesthesia. The goal was to see if avoiding opioids led to fewer complications, shorter ICU and hospital stays, and lower death rates. The study did not give any new treatment; it simply looked back at past data to gather information.