Shoulder
Pain Control After Surgery
Apr,15,2008 08:41
Controlling
pain is one of the most important areas of
postoperative care. It is usually the aspect of
surgery that scares patients the most and is most
ignored by doctors. We have tried to take a more
comprehensive approach. The most important principle
is to treat the pain with different modalities so
that we have to use the least amount of narcotics.
Narcotics are the drugs that make patients sleepy,
constipated and unable to cooperate well with their
physical therapy.
We use local blocks, spinal anesthesia and injections around the incision to help control pain. By combining these methods with nonsedating drugs, we are able to keep patients very comfortable and use very little sedation after surgery. The nurses who take care of our patients after surgery have seen a dramatic difference in the amount of pain that patients report to them after surgery. I see this as one of the most important aspects of our care and does more to ensure rapid recovery than any other method we employ. If you have any specific questions about the exact methods we use, please email me any time.
We use local blocks, spinal anesthesia and injections around the incision to help control pain. By combining these methods with nonsedating drugs, we are able to keep patients very comfortable and use very little sedation after surgery. The nurses who take care of our patients after surgery have seen a dramatic difference in the amount of pain that patients report to them after surgery. I see this as one of the most important aspects of our care and does more to ensure rapid recovery than any other method we employ. If you have any specific questions about the exact methods we use, please email me any time.
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