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Pain Control After SurgeryFor patients that are hospitalized after surgery, two of the most common forms of pain control after surgery are a PCA pump or an epidural drip (or epidural pump). What is an epidural drip or epidural pump? If your surgery is done with Epidural Anesthesia, the epidural catheter, or tube which is inserted and used to deliver medicine to the spinal nerves, can be left in place for a few days. Medications can be given through the epidural catheter to control pain after abdominal surgery or surgery on your legs. This technique gives the patient excellent pain relief. The amount of medication given may be adjusted as needed by the nursing staff with guidance from the Anesthesiologist. The catheter is usually left in place for one to two days after surgery. Some of the side effects from this method of pain control can be itching, nausea, and/or sedation. The nursing staff will be looking for these side effects and adjust your medication as needed. When the epidural drip is stopped and the catheter removed, the patient will be started on either a PCA or pain medication by mouth. What is PCA? PCA or Patient Controlled Analgesia allows the patient to control how much and how often he or she receives intravenous pain medication. After surgery, when the patient has pain, he pushes a button to receive pain medication. Each push of the button will inject a specific dose of pain medication into the patient's IV. The pump is calibrated to give a certain amount of medication within a certain time period if the patient pushes the button. With this method the patient can get pain medication as often as he or she feels uncomfortable. With a PCA pump, the patient no longer has to call for pain medication and then wait for the nurse to deliver it. Patients are usually more comfortable and use less pain medication overall. Other methods of pain control: Other methods of pain control after surgery may include intramuscular injections of narcotics, pain medications by mouth, and regional blocks. These methods may be used individually or in conjunction with other pain control methods. You may discuss plans for your pain control after surgery with your surgeon or anesthesiologist. Pain Management |
