Pain Pump for Podiatry Surgery

A new technique delivers a local anesthetic precisely to targeted, limb-specific nerves, providing pain relief during podiatry surgery by blocking signals to the brain while leaving the patient fully conscious.

This technique employs a small, microchip-controlled infusion pump. The pump attaches to a thin tube that bathes the nerves leading to the patient's foot. In contrast, general anesthesia suppresses activity in the entire central nervous system, so a patient's vital signs must be constantly monitored during surgery. After anesthesia wears off, the patient begins taking pain medication that may include morphine or other addictive drugs. The analgesic effect of narcotic pills peaks and gradually disappears, so pain comes and goes. Narcotics can also cause nausea, constipation, and sedation.

This new pain control technique is made possible by a new innovative compact electronic pump, called ambIT, made by Sorenson Medical (Salt Lake City, UT, USA). This pump allows a doctor to continually deliver a precise amount of mild anesthetic directly to the source of the pain, rather than numbing the whole body. Microchip technology allows the doctor to easily program an exact medication flow rate and duration appropriate to each patient's needs.

"The greatest benefit of the new pain pump and the nerve-block surgical technique is that the patient is apt to stay pain free and to move around more quickly after surgery,” said Dr. Peter J. Bregman, who is pioneering the use of the new pain-control technique for podiatry surgery in Boston (MA, USA). "Nine out of 10 of my surgeries are completely pain-free now,” he noted.




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