|
Tips for Reducing Pain and Speeding Your Recovery
Following Breast Augmentation
There are a number of things that can be done to reduce pain, swelling, and nausea and speed your recovery. Explained below are a number of steps Dr. Loftus recommends.
Reducing Pain and Swelling:
Breast implant placement under the muscle can either be very painful with an unpleasant recovery period, or it can be minimally painful with a much faster recovery. Dr. Loftus recommends some very important steps to increase the likelihood of less pain and fast recovery.
After anesthesia is administered and you are asleep, Dr. Loftus recommends injecting long-lasting numbing medicine (similar to Novocain, but much longer lasting) on all sides of each breast.
Before closing your skin, Dr. Loftus recommends placing a large dose of the same numbing medicine directly into the area where the implant is sitting. This "blocks" the nerves from sending pain signals to your brain after surgery. Dr. Loftus has also found that this reduces swelling. For a variety of reasons, the body is very slow in absorbing the numbing medicine around the implant, and it therefore can last for several days. Don't worry, though, because once it wears off, you will not suddenly feel pain. In fact, most do not even notice when it wears off.
It has been shown in multiple medical studies that reducing the initial pain after surgery markedly reduces overall pain and speeds recovery. Dr. Loftus has found that since using marcaine in all breast augmentation patients, 60% of her patients report no pain in the recovery room. They often have soreness or pressure, but no pain. 20% have mild pain, and 20% have moderate pain. Overall, these are far better statistics than in women who receive no marcaine at the time of surgery—most of whom experience moderate to severe pain.
Some plastic surgeons advocate placing a pump in the surgical site to infuse numbing medicine for a few days following surgery. Although this is sometimes helpful, it is no more effective than placing a large single dose into the pocket at the time of surgery. Further, it may introduce a higher risk of infection, as the pump tubing communicates the outside world with your implants for as long as the pump is in place.
Dr. Loftus also recommends that you are given a prescription for Demerol (meperidine), which is a powerful pain medication. You should also ask your surgeon about the option of also receiving celebrex, a powerful non-narcotic pain medication and flexeril, a muscle relaxant. Working together, they are very effective in combating pain and discomfort.
Additional measures to help reduce discomfort include avoiding pectoral exercises (bench press, fly, and push-ups) from one month prior to surgery to two months afterward. This also helps minimize swelling.
Reducing Nausea:
One of the most common causes of nausea is pain. Dr. Loftus has found that taking steps to reduce pain has markedly reduced the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, even in those who are prone to it. Further, Dr. Loftus advocates a number of simple medications which are very effective in reducing nausea.
Dr. Loftus recommends decadron (an intravenous steroid which reduces nausea), Zofran (an anti-nausea medication that is so effective that it is routinely prescribed for cancer patients), Scopalamine (a medication which helps motion sickness), and Pepcid AC (this over-the-counter medication is a fabulous drug which further inhibits nausea in surgical patients). In those who are particularly prone to nausea after surgery, Dr. Loftus recommends raglan, phenergan, and emend.
Why so many drugs? Because there are multiple potential causes of nausea following surgery, and each drug targets a different cause. If you are nauseated, it will not be evident which cause is involved. Nor will it be evident which drug will make you feel better. Dr. Loftus recommends starting with I.V. decadron, zofran, scopolamine patch, and Pepcid AC, as this combination works effectively for most.
By taking all of these steps, Dr. Loftus has effectively reduced the rate of nausea and vomiting in her surgery center. Although the national average for postoperative nausea and vomiting is 33% and 22%, respectively, the incidence of nausea and vomiting at the Loftus Plastic Surgery Center is less than 7%.
|
