patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy were divided into two groups. patients in catheter group were placed a catheter with open technique by the surgeon in the pectoral area. thirty minutes before extubation %1 lidocain 10 ml, %0.5 bupivacain 10 ml and 10 ml %0.9 sodium chloride were given through the catheter for postoperative analgesia. patients in iv analgesia group were given 100 mg tramadol iv 30 minutes before extubation. visual analog pain scale (VAS) scores, rescue analgesic requirement, complications were recorded and compared between two groups 1, 6, 12, 24 hours and 90 days after surgery.