Plastic Surgery Pain Management in Atlanta, GA, with Dr. Depew
Conveniently located to serve the areas of Atlanta, GA
Dr. Depew dedicates himself to making each patient’s surgical experience as smooth as possible. Part of this commitment is employing the most advanced pain management protocols available. We understand that pain is a significant concern; our goal is to minimize this with innovative medications and techniques.
For the entire Depew Plastics staff, patient comfort is a top priority.
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What is ERAS?
ERAS is “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery.” It is a multimodal approach to keeping you comfortable. It involves several different pain medications that work in tandem.
One of the core pillars of ERAS is avoiding narcotics (such as Percocet, Oxycodone, Oxycontin, and others) to avoid side effects like nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Avoiding these medications also means avoiding the risk of addition or dependency.
Instead, ERAS uses medications that work on different pain receptors. By cycling through this array of medications, patients get a steadier, safer dose of pain relief, meaning a more comfortable recovery.
What are some of the ERAS medications?
Patients receive a series of medications that they will take every few hours to keep their pain relief steady. Aside from variables such as allergies or medical conditions, patients generally receive the following:
- An arthritis-strength Tylenol that they will begin a few days before their procedure. This is because it can take up to 2 days for the medication to reach the central nervous system and reach its peak.
- Celebrex, a high-strength anti-inflammatory medication that does not thin the blood as much as others (such as Motrin).
- Gabapentin (also known as Neurontin) which optimizes relief.
Patients will begin taking Celebrex and Neurontin the night before their procedure.
Additionally, patients undergoing more significant surgeries (such as a tummy tuck or other body contouring) will receive Exparel. Exparel is a long-acting local anesthetic that numbs the treatment site for 2-3 days.
Patients with a history of motion sickness will also receive a scopolamine patch. In the immediate post-operative period, this patch will help minimize nausea.
How does ERAS make my anesthesia different?
In Dr. Depew’s experience, patients on the ERAS protocol require fewer narcotics during surgery, especially when they begin their medications prior to their procedure. Because the pain medications are already in your system, they’re ready to activate as soon as pain signals spread. This means less medication during surgery, and less digestive discomfort during your recovery.
Why are more surgeons avoiding narcotics?
In the U.S., 3 million people have or had an opioid use disorder. Worldwide, this figure is 16 million. In the 20 years between 1999-2019, opioid overdoses accounted for 500,000 deaths.
Dr. Depew and other surgeons found that not only do patients rarely need narcotics while on the ERAS protocol, but avoiding them contributed to better pain control, less nausea, and less constipation.
In other words, narcotics weren’t as effective as other options, and they brought uncomfortable side effects.
Does ERAS really work, or will I be in pain?
The best part about ERAS is that it absolutely works! Dr. Depew’s patients regularly report minimal discomfort post-surgery with ERAS. And, because they avoid narcotics, they have less constipation and nausea. However, it is always better to hear it directly from the patient, so we encourage you to read our reviews!