DuBois, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Healthcare’s orthopedics and sports medicine team has created an opioid avoidance protocol for ACL reconstruction that cut opioid use by more than 80% and left 40% of patients opioid-free 60 days after surgery, according to a Sept. 17 Huntingdon Daily News report.
The team behind the protocol, led by Matthew Varacallo, MD, will present its findings at the Eastern Orthopaedic Association’s annual meeting in Naples, Fla., in October.
The approach combines preoperative cryoneurolysis, multimodal nonopioid medications and nerve blocks, while allowing patients to request opioids if needed.
The protocol maintained pain control without added complications and could serve as a model for other orthopedic procedures, including joint replacements and rotator cuff repairs, according to the report.
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