Pain Relief to go After Surgery
Reported April 19, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — At most hospitals across the country, patients who undergo orthopedic surgery are given narcotics to help them handle the pain. Narcotics have a lot of side effects, and many patients simply aren’t able to take them. Now, technology is offering a new kind of pain relief.
Rob Michel’s love for Harleys started young. “I knew then I was born to cruise,” he says. “I just love getting on the road and going.”
But an accident at age 14 nearly killed him.
“I was riding my dad’s Harley on the back. It was almost a whole year before I walked again.”
Michel badly broken leg led to a lifetime of injuries. He finally had reconstructive knee surgery as an adult. The pain was awful, but the narcotics made him sick. He admits, “I just gave up the medicine after a few days and just took the pain.”
When Michel hurt his other knee while skiing, he couldn’t bear the pain of getting it fixed again. Then, anesthesiologist Jeff Swenson, M.D., offered him a new pain relief option.
Right before or after surgery, Dr. Swenson, of University of Utah Orthopaedic Center in Salt Lake City, uses ultrasound images to safely and precisely thread a needle close to a nerve without touching it. The nerve is then soaked with an anesthetic. A catheter and balloon pump pain relief to the nerve for two days as the patient recovers at home.
“The placement of nerve blocks with ultrasound guidance is going to be one of the most significant revolutions in anesthesia that has occurred in the last 20 or 30 years,” Dr. Swenson tells Ivanhoe.
Michel had the procedure when he had his surgery last year. He says he’s now 100-percent better. “I mean, it was just, I wouldn’t be afraid of going back in for another surgery.” But he’s not planning on it. He’s back on the road and hopes he’s left his injuries in the dust.
Once the pain medication is used up, patients can simply throw the catheter away. Dr. Swenson says this technology is best for orthopedic procedures like shoulder surgeries, knee surgery and foot and ankle procedures.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Jeff Swenson, M.D.
University of Utah Orthopaedic Center
590 Wakara Way
Salt Lake City, UT 84108
(801) 587-7100
http://uuhsc.utah.edu
