Cosmetic Surgery with No Pain?
Believe it or not, it’s possible. Pain pumps really do reduce pain after surgery and in this video I talk about the cost and the benefits as well as demonstrate exactly how the pain pump works.
Why Doesn’t Everyone Use Pain Pumps?
Some patients don’t want the additional cost. Surgeons who offer it usually pass the exact cost on to the consumer, without a profit margin or any additional fees. I offer pain pumps to make my surgical patients more comfortable, but it brings a lot of benefits beyond pain relief including less nausea, better breathing, better drinking and eating – which all amount to a faster recovery.
How Do Pain Pumps Work?
In the video I show the actual pain pump and illustrate how the tiny little tubes work to bring a constant flow of anesthetic directly to the wound field, which really helps block the pain. These are not the same pain pumps you might have experienced in a hospital, the other kind that injects morphine or narcotics into your bloodstream! Those make you loopy and can even make you nauseous.
If you’re thinking about the pain pump, get it. If your surgeon doesn’t offer it, ask for it. Demand it. Pain pumps really can dramatically reduce post-operative pain and shorten your recover time. Read more about the benefits and specifics of using pain pumps for cosmetic surgery in this blog post.
Transcript
Hi. I’m Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, and today we’re going to talk about something we all wish – can we have surgery without pain.
Well, you know, you’d be surprised. You can! It is possible. Like they say, ah, “we have the technology.”
Now, what is the technology? It’s called a pain pump and we have them available, we can use them.
So how come not everybody uses them?
Well, there’s two reasons; number one being that some patients don’t want to spend the little extra money. I tell you, most surgeons who use the pain pumps just pass on the cost to the consumer, we don’t try to make a profit on it.
Initially, I used the paint pumps as a way to just sort of make them feel more comfortable, have a more positive surgical experience; but the more I use the pain pump, the more I’m convinced that it really brings in a lot of benefits to the patients, other than just a pain relief, and we’ll talk about those in a little bit.
So, if you’re thinking about the pain pump, just get it. If your surgeon doesn’t offer, ask for it and demand it. Tell him, look, I’ve heard about the pain pump. Just can I please use it, can I please get it.
Now, some of you who have been in hospitals may have heard of the other kind of pain pump, the one where it goes in through your veins, and, the problem with that one is that it gives you . . . they’re basically injecting morphine or narcotics, which, you know, they make you a little bit loopy, you know, you’re kind of out of it, and they usually take them out after a day or two.
These pain pumps are great. See, it’s all filled up with a local anesthetic here, and it’s a local anesthetic, it’s not something that goes into your brain or anything, it goes directly into the wound field.
For example a woman who has had a tummy tuck, or a breast augmentation, you have these little tubes . . . very, very tiny tubes that you can see here, very tiny. And they come in through your skin, either through here for the breast, or through here for the belly, and they’re constantly pumping in this local anaesthetic. Very easy concept. Foolproof really, I mean it’s just delivering local anesthetic all the time.
So what happens when you get a local anaesthetic delivered? Well, the first thing is less nausea. Believe it or not, there have been countless surveys on patients after surgery – all kinds, not just plastic surgery – where they asked them, you know, “what was the most unpleasant thing after surgery?” and invariably they say, “nausea.” They were expecting the pain, they just were not expecting the nausea. So the nausea really bothers patients a lot.
So what happens when you have nausea? Well, you tend to drink less, so you’re not replenishing the fluids that you had during surgery.
Secondly, you’re not eating very well and then when you eat something, you might just, like, throw it up. And so then you get into a little cycle with a pain pills and the nausea. You know, you’re in a lot of pain, but then you’re going to take a pain pill, and the narcotics and the pain pills themselves give you nausea, so you take the pain pill to treat the pain then you get nausea, then you vomit the pain pill, and, you know, you can get into these vicious circles where things are not really improving.
The other thing is the pain. Well, there’s obviously less pain. I mean, you know, not to discount the pain, I mean everybody would like to have less pain, but by then things are a lot better. You’re not taking as many pain medications as you would have had to, because the local anesthetic is being delivered directly. You’re eating better, you’re not nauseated, so you’re feeling a lot better.
Now, all of these things lead to a faster recovery, okay, when you’re breathing better, more oxygen delivered to the tissues, you’re getting up, you’re limbering up those muscles, you’re moving around a little bit better, it’s just a whole better recovery with it.
So, you know, the last issue I have here on the board for you to read – I’m hoping you can memorize all of these, I’m gonna quiz you – is the money.
I mean, it really isn’t that expensive compared to the cost of surgery and it really delivers a big bang for the buck. I mean, I have an anecdote, you know, a patient who had the pain pump and, you know, she thought she didn’t need it, she felt that I had talked her into it, and two days after surgery she comes in and says, “Doc, you know, take it out. I want a refund. You know, this pain pump isn’t helping me at all, I’m still taking some of the pain medicines.”
I said, “Well, you know, I don’t think you should do that,” but I gave in, you know, I took off the pain pump.
That night, around midnight, I get a call from the patient crying, “Can you put the pain pump back in?”.
I’m sorry, I can’t put it in.
So, if you have a pain pump, and you don’t think it helps, you can just clamp it. They have their little clamps in here, and see what you think. Chances are you’re gonna unclamp it.
So anyways, how do you wear the pain pump? Well, or how do you know it’s working, first of all.
Well, you know it’s working because it starts off like this, and it ends up like this. It empties out. All the fluid in here empties out. The fluid goes in through the tubes, like I explained, into your body.
And then, very conveniently, you know, they all come with these sacks – you sort of put it in the bag, wear it around your shoulder.
Yeah, you’re not going to a fashion show, so you’re not worried about it . . . although I’m sure you’re going to dress better with a pain pump than without it, I mean, at least you’re not gonna be in pajamas… you’re gonna… but anyways…
I will tell you that it really makes patients healthier because they can breathe better, they can walk better, just, live is better for them.
So, ask yourself, if you could have surgery without pain would you do it? Yeah! why not?! I love the pain pump.
Anyways ,this is it for my blog today, short and sweet, but keep those questions coming. I get ideas from you guys when you write back, so write the questions! Anyways, have a great day.