How is pain managed?
Laparoscopic surgery means that pain is kept to a minimum from the beginning. Depending on which operation is done, patients receive a combination of IV pain meds and meds by mouth. We routinely use Morphine in a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. We usually add a 24-hour course of Ketorolac (a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug or NSAID). Pain meds by mouth, usually Lortab, are offered beginning on post-op day 1, and the patient uses these to transition off the PCA. A prescription for oral pain medicine is provided at the time of discharge. In addition to the standard combination therapy above, for many operations we implant a tiny plastic tube into the tissues near the source of pain. This tiny plastic tube carries numbing medicine (such as marcaine) directly to the source of the pain for 2-5 days after surgery. The device used is called the On-Q Pain Buster.
Laparoscopic surgery means that pain is kept to a minimum from the beginning. Depending on which operation is done, patients receive a combination of IV pain meds and meds by mouth. We routinely use Morphine in a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. We usually add a 24-hour course of Ketorolac, with works synergistically with IV medicines such as morphine. Pain meds by mouth, usually Lortab, are offered beginning on post-op day 1, and the patient uses these to transition off the PCA. A prescription for oral pain medicine is provided at the time of discharge. In addition to the standard combination therapy above, for many operations we implant a tiny plastic tube into the tissues near the source of pain. This tiny plastic tube carries numbing medicine (such as marcaine) directly to the source of the pain for 2-5 days after surgery. The device used is called the On-Q Pain Buster.
