Patients Remain Awake During Surgery Using High-Tech “Pain Pump”

       Using a small, microchip-controlled ambIT infusion pump attached to a thin tube that provides an anesthetic bath to the nerves of the patient’s foot, Peter J. Bregman, DPM, of Northeast Foot Specialists in Wilmington, Mass, is able to control pain during surgery without general anesthesia. His patients are awake during surgery yet remain completely pain-free. After surgery, the pain pump, which hangs from a belt pack and runs on 2 AA batteries, stays with the patient to ensure a comfortable recovery at home.
       Dr. Bregman is pioneering this new pain control technique for podiatric surgery use because it provides a variety of medical benefits. Unlike general anesthesia, this technique delivers a local anesthetic to targeted, limb-specific nerves, providing pain relief.
       “The local anesthetic we use with this new technique is like what your dentist uses, except instead of numbness for one-and-a-half hours, ours produces numbness for 8 to 24 hours,” says Dr. Bregman, who trained at Dellon Institute for Peripheral Nerve Surgery in Baltimore, Md.
       What makes this sophisticated pain control technique possible is a new generation of innovative, compact electronic pumps made by Sorenson Medical in Salt Lake City, Utah. The ambIT pump allows a physician to continually deliver a precise amount of mild anesthetic directly to the pain source rather than numbing the entire body. Sophisticated microchip technology lets the physician easily program an exact medicine flow rate and duration appropriate to each patient’s needs.
       Many of Bregman’s patients suffer from nerve disease of the lower extremities caused by diabetes. Bregman performs more lower-extremity surgeries on this type of patient than any other physician in Massachusetts. He also uses this technique on arthritic patients in need of corrective surgery and on patients with bunions. “Nine out of 10 of my surgeries are completely pain free now,” said Bregman.
       “The greatest benefit of the new pain pumps and the nerve-block surgical technique is that the patient is apt to stay pain free and to move around more quickly after surgery,” Dr. Bregman says. “The more active a patient is, the better prepared he’ll be for rehab and the more quickly he’ll heal.”
       Visit http://www.painfreefeet.com for more information.