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bined with the sedative effects of anesthesia, that can create a danger-
ous situation."
Mr. Baribeault found that not only does opioid-free anesthesia pro-
vide superior post-operative pain control, at the same time it protects
patients from a long list of dangerous side effects: respiratory depres-
sion, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, post-op nausea and vomiting, addic-
tion, hallucinations, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbance, impaired
wound healing, cancer reoccurrence, and increased hospital stay or
recovery from surgery.
Mr. Baribeault promises his patients that they won't miss opioids dur-
ing surgery. In recovery, he tells them "there's a reasonable chance we
can get your pain at a reasonable level using a variety of medications."
And if he can't or if patients feel they need greater pain control and
want an opioid, then that's what they'll get — but they'll require far less
of it because they don't have opioids on board.
"If patients are still having pain in recovery, nobody is suggesting that
we'll withhold opioids," says Mr. Baribeault. "That's a very important
qualifier. We're going to let the patient wake up and choose if he needs
an opioid — we're not just going to give it to him. This gives patients a
sense of control. Patients appreciate the freedom of choice."
Then there is the opioid addiction and abuse epidemic, which is
especially bad in Kentucky. Studies have found that having surgery
increases the risk of becoming a chronic opioid user.
"We're only with our patients for an hour or 2 during surgery, but
the effects of what we do during that time are very long-lasting," says
Mr. Baribeault. "We've conditioned our patients to think that they're
going to leave surgery with a prescription for painkillers — probably
far more than they'd need."
OSM
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