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S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
Anesthesia providers who give
pain pump patients their cell numbers
are bound to regret it. The phone never stops ringing.
a.
true
b.
false
Answer:
b
I've given my cell phone number to at least 15,000 people over the years and the
number of calls I get is minimal. Providers tend to be afraid they're going to get
bombarded with phone calls, but as a general rule, patients don't like to call
doctors. They know you're busy and they don't like to bother you. I tell patients
not to worry. It's what I'm here for. It's very easy to answer a phone call and
walk a patient though something.
Pain pumps tend to be associated with more
infections and complications than single-shot blocks.
a.
true
b.
false
Answer:
b
I think that's a misconception a lot of people have. It hasn't been our experi-
ence. In fact, we've probably seen more complications with single-shot blocks.
There is a slight risk of infection with pumps. If patients get extremely sore or
pus shows up around the catheter, they need to come in, have it pulled and be
given antibiotics. There's also the potential for nerve irritation and prolonged
numbness, but the incidence for those doesn't seem to be greater with
catheters than with single-shot blocks, either.
OSM
Dr. Hickman (
g hick ma n@a ndrewsinstitutesc.com
) is the medical director and the
director of anesthesia at the Andrews Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center in Gulf
Breeze, Fla.
P A I N P U M P S A F E T Y
