After your surgery, it?s important that your pain is relieved.When you?re not in pain, you may sleep better, move around sooner and may get back to your normal appetite quicker so you feel better faster. There are two major ways that pain is relieved after surgery. The most familiar is the use of narcotics like morphine. These drugs can cause unpleasant side effects such as nausea, drowsiness, constipation and difficulty breathing. They may also be habit forming. Medical science has developed a new way of relieving pain that can cut down or even stop the need for these drugs. This important new type of pain relief is called ON-Q PainBuster.
Narcotic Pain Relief
Most people know about common drugs called narcotics such as morphine, Demerol and codeine. These are often given after surgery in pill form,in a shot or through a tube placed directly in the vein(intravenous or IV).
Pros and Cons of Narcotic Pain Relief
Drugs like morphine affect the entire body. They?re good for relieving really bad pain in a large area. But narcotics can make it harder to walk, eat and go to the bathroom. For these reasons, when pain is only in a small area, it may be better to choose pain relief that affects only that area.
Local Anesthetic Pain ReliefLocal ?anesthetics? are medicines, like Novocain®,that work right where the pain is.They don?t affect the whole body,so they won?t make you sleepy or groggy and don?t numb other body parts. Other local anesthetics you may have heard about are lidocaine and bupivacaine.
Continuous Pain Relief
At the Surgical Site Doctors have used local anesthetics during all kinds of surgeries for years. But now,these medicines are used to control pain after surgery. The medicine can be put right where the surgical cut is and it relieves the pain even while you?re up and moving around.
It?s Time You Know ON-Q PainBuster
For local pain relief many surgeons use a system called ON-Q PainBuster. ON-Q PainBuster uses a little pump shaped like a rubber ball to put medicine right on the spot of your incision. The pump connects to a very thin tube(catheter), which is put in place by your surgeon. You may wear your ON-Q PainBuster while you?re in the hospital or even take it home for a few days.It easily clips to your clothing or it can be carried in a small case. After you?re finished using it,you simply throw it away.
ON-Q PainBuster May Provide:
■ More comfortable pain relief and recovery
■ Pain relief without the side effects of narcotics
■ Constant pain relief? so pain doesn?t ?break through? as it sometimes does with narcotics
■ Quicker return to normal activities like walking, eating and generally moving around
■ Earlier release from the hospital
Your surgeon will tell you if ON-Q PainBuster is right for you, either alone or with a small amount of pain pills. If your surgeon gives you pain pills,you should take them according to your surgeon?s directions.You may be one of the many people who get better faster with ON-Q PainBuster. Ask your surgeon about ON-Q PainBuster today.
Guidelines for Pain Relief Using ON-Q PainBuster
During Use:
The ON-Q PainBuster pump is filled with medicine (image 1). It is completely portable and can be attached to your clothing or carried in a small pouch. A tiny tube or catheter connects to the pump. The flow restrictor is taped to the skin.The medicine is automatically delivered to your incision from the pump ? there is no need to squeeze or adjust it.As the medicine is released, the pump will get smaller. This is a very slow process ? barely noticeable in the first 24 hours.When the time is up and the medicine is gone, the pump will be flat and you?ll be able to feel a hard,thick tube in the middle of it.
ON-Q PainBuster Removal (Catheter):If your doctor has instructed you to remove the catheter,then follow his or her instructions keeping in mind these key steps ? simply remove the small bandage covering your catheter,hold the tube close to the skin, and gently pull (image 2). Generally, it will come out easily. There should be no pain. If there is any resistance at all, you can call the doctor and arrange to have it removed. Don?t ever pull hard or cut the catheter. Just call the doctor if you have trouble removing it.At the tip of the tube you?ll see a small black mark (image 3). If you can?t see the black mark when you remove the catheter, let your doctor know.Your doctor or nurse should give you a Patient Guidelines pamphlet to take home with you for more information on using your ON-Q PainBuster.
For more information regarding ON-Q PainBuster please call 800-444-2728 twenty four hours a day or visit AskYourSurgeon.com.
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