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Implantable Pain Pump
February 18, 2009 |
Sometimes for those suffering with chronic back pain, surgery and medications just
aren’t enough. That’s why doctors are using an implantable pain pump called an intrathecal
pump that delivers pain medication directly to the spine.
Dr. Gene Mahaney is a pain management specialist with Lee Memorial Health System's
Pain Management Center. He says, “By delivering pain medications directly to the
spine, you can use much less quantity of medications and thus limit the patient’s
side effects while giving them essentially a much improved level of pain.”
This can be a big improvement for those who have tried all other methods. “Typically
an ideal candidate for an intrathecal pump would be a patient that’s failed other
techniques, surgeries, injections, oral medications and simply can not have good
pain control
without an appropriate, low level of side effects,” adds Dr. Mahaney.
The pump is about the size of a hockey puck and is inserted under the skin in the abdomen.
A catheter carries the medications from the pump into the spine to provide
pain relief around the clock. Dr. Mahaney says, “The pump is a self-contained unit
with a battery similar to a pace maker. It will last upwards of ten years. The unit
delivers the medication directly into the spine on a constant basis, all day long.”
The pump usually doesn’t require any maintenance and once the wound from the surgery
has healed, patients are able to return to normal activities.
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