The retrospective study was led by Vinod Dasa, MD, an associate professor of clinical orthopedics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. The study looked at 100 patients in Dr. Dasa’s orthopedic practice who had advanced osteoarthritis requiring total knee replacement. The treatment group of 50 underwent cryoneurolysis in addition to multimodal pain management, which was compared to the control group, who had standard therapy alone. The two groups were similar in terms of gender, age and BMI.
Here are four points:
1. Patients in the treatment group had significantly shorter hospital stays and were prescribed fewer opioids.
2. Six percent of the patients treated with cryoneurolysis prior to their surgery stayed in the hospital for two or more days, compared with 67 percent of the control group.
3. The shorter hospital stays of patients in the treatment group may be due to better local control of pain and a reduced need for nerve blocks that can impair motor function, all of which allows patients to walk and function well enough to go home sooner.
4. In conclusion, the study found freezing nerves before knee replacement surgery, combined with traditional pain management, improves the patient outcomes.
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