Study to Determine if Pre- and Post- Operative TAP Catheters With Ropivacaine Versus Placebo Affects Anesthetic, Narcotic Dosing, and Pain Scores (TAP RCT)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age >=50 years.
• Subjects will be undergoing an elective intra-abdominal or abdominal wall operation, including pelvic operations. Surgery specialties included are general surgery, surgical oncology, urology, gynecology, plastic surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects with a history of dementia or aphasia, as visual analog scale and confusion assessment will be unreliable.
• Patients with an epidural or spinal catheter block.
• Patients who do not speak English so that a language barrier is not confused with VAS scoring or confusion.
• Patients who are abusing alcohol defined by a high AUDIT score (>8) will be excluded.
• History of bipolar disorder or a psychotic disorder (such as a psychotic major depression, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or psychosis in Alzheimer's disease or other dementia).
• Patients with a documented allergy to ropivacaine or other sodium channel blockers.