Knee or hip replacement patients who forego general anesthesia during surgery and instead receive pain-blocking medication recover more quickly and report less pain, according to the February issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.
A decade ago, patients undergoing these procedures almost always were given general anesthesia during surgery and intravenous narcotic pain medication afterwards. The newer pain management approaches, however, can reduce unpleasant side effects of general anesthesia and speed recovery, according to the report.
The newer protocols involve giving the patient a choice about whether to receive regional or general anesthesia, giving oral narcotic pain medications prior to surgery, using sedative drugs before surgery, using nerve blocks, and providing oral pain medications after surgery, according to the Mayo report.
Patients who receive regional anesthesia can often begin physical therapy sooner and leave the hospital earlier. These protocols also provide another option for older adults who have complicated conditions that make general anesthesia more risky, according to the report.
Read about the Mayo Clinic Health Letter's report on the new pain management treatment.