We are privileged to bring out this special issue on “Anaesthesia and Chronic Pain“. Evolution of anaesthesia is one of the greatest milestones in the history of medicine. We have come a long way from the days of open ether. Maximum technological advances in our specialty have taken place in the last 40 years. In this issue we have deliberately kept out the complex technical aspects of the subject keeping the readership in mind. Topics have been selected which may interest all.

Our undergraduate training gives very little understanding of anaesthesia and with passage of time it becomes more remote. Resuscitation has been given a special place as it is very important to every medical practitioner.

Anaesthesia and surgical advances go hand in hand. Heroic surgeries are possible today because of availability of excellent anaesthesia techniques, monitoring and agents.

Anaesthesia progress has been fuelled by growing surgical demands. Reciprocally it is challenging surgical situations that provide opportunities for the anaesthetist to exercise his skill and knowledge and expand his potential.

Anaesthetists today are also perioperative physicians, intensive care specialists and pain physicians. Pain clinics are growing rapidly and are here to stay.

Per se anaesthesia has no therapeutic value. Therefore morbidity is unacceptable and mortality is considered catastrophic. Inherent risks of anaesthesia and underlying medical problems are not well understood by others. What is also lesser understood is that anaesthesia risk is independent of surgical risk. Minor surgery does not equate to minor anaesthesia. The anaesthetist’s job is similar to that of a pilot. It is assumed that all will go well unless disaster strikes.

Ideal anaesthesia should be safe for all age groups, all types of surgeries and all patient conditions. At the turn of the millennium we have come very close to this goal.

The quest for perfection goes on.

We profusely thank Dr OP Kapoor for initiating and recognizing the need to bring out this special issue which was long overdue. We are extremely grateful to Dr Mehta and Ms Smita for their painstaking compilation and proof reading of the articles.

We thank all the authors for their valuable contribution. We take this unique opportunity to thank the Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences for having given us a platform and innumerable opportunities for professional growth.