BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Every day in the United States, 130 people die from opioids overdose – sometimes the drugs are obtained illegally, or they can be prescribed by a doctor for pain relief after surgery. In the wake of an epidemic of opioid addiction and deaths, there’s a growing movement among surgeons to find other ways to successfully manage post-surgery pain.
Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin – for years, they were a mainstay of pain management after surgery. Plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Mercy Medical Center, Lauren Nigro, MD says she and many of her colleagues recommend non-narcotic alternatives for patients, even for procedures that require weeks of recovery time, like a tummy tuck.
“A lot of it has to do with the size of the cuts we’re making, and a lot of it has to do with also sewing those muscles together,” Dr. Nigro explains.
But Dr. Nigro says for the past several years, there’s been a movement to treat pain before, during, and after the procedure. Before, patients are often prescribed Tylenol or other acetaminophen for several days. During, doctors administer a long-acting nerve block that can last three or four days. After, doctors sometimes prescribe the non-opioid gabapentin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and in some cases, an injection of Botox.
“There’s actually a substance in it that it inhibits the substance P, which involves the pain pathway,” Dr. Nigro further explains.
Dr. Nigro says it’s important to use the pain management methods before and during surgery, so patients are not suddenly in uncontrollable pain after, which leads to taking more than needed.
Doctors do still prescribe opioids for pain-relief and chronic conditions, but in some states, doctors limit the prescription to ten pills, or just a week’s worth of medication.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Sources:
https://www.ivanhoe.com/medical-breakthroughs/opioid-free-pain-relief-mma/
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: AVOIDING OPIOIDS: TREATING PAIN BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER SURGERY
REPORT: MB #5111
BACKGROUND: Opioids are a group of pain-relieving drugs that work by interacting with opioid receptors in your cells. They are grown and developed from poppy plants. Some examples of opioids are morphine and fentanyl. While opioids are effective for treating pain, they are also an addictive substance. In lower doses, opioid medication can make you feel sleepy, but higher doses can slow down breathing and heart rate, which can lead to death. The feelings of pleasure that can result in taking opioids can lead to addiction.
DIAGNOSING: There are many ways of treating pain, and while opioids are one of the more common pain relief methods, many people are reconsidering what they want in pain relief. Some alternatives to opioids include physical therapy, acupuncture and even injections or nerve blockers. There are cutting-edge ways of treating pain as an alternative to opioids such as radio waves, electrical signals, and even spinal cord stimulation.
(Source: https://www.asahq.org/madeforthismoment/pain-management/non-opioid-treatment/)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: One new way of non-opioid way to relieve chronic pain is spinal cord stimulation (SCS), if you are trying to avoid opioids when other chronic pain treatments such as physical therapy, surgery or injections do not work. The SCS disrupts pain signals that travel between the brain and spinal cord, and with a neurostimulator implanted under the skin, delivers the stimulation. Some of the types of pain the SCS treats is back pain, injuries to the spinal cord, post-surgical pain, and even pain after an amputation. With any surgery or new treatment, there are side effects or complications that can still happen, such as infection within the first two to eight weeks, bleeding, device migration and in extremely rare cases, spinal cord trauma.
(Source: https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/patients/treatments-therapies/spinal-cord-stimulation-chronic-pain/therapy-overview.html https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/treating-pain-with-spinal-cord-stimulators)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Dan Collins
(410) 332-9714
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
