Irish doctors discover new pain relief tactic
Tuesday October 09 2007
A NEW surgical technique discovered by two Irish doctors is helping to reduce the amount of pain suffered by patients after an operation, it emerged yesterday.
The breakthrough research, by the Department of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, is also speeding up the healing of patients who undergo surgery, allowing quicker recovery.
It involves putting a local anaesthetic at a particular point in the abdomen, the two medics, Dr John McDonnell, Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesia at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, and Dr Tom Farrell, senior lecturer in anatomy, revealed.
They found that when a local anaesthetic is injected into the patient at a small area above the side of the pelvis, the entire abdomen becomes insensitive to pain. The technique is currently undergoing clinical trials both internationally and in all of the major teaching hospitals in the capital.
"Results have been very promising for several major abdominal surgical procedures, such as Caesarean sections, hysterectomies and other procedures carried out using laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery."
The method has been presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anaesthesia and at the European Society for Regional Anaesthesia in Monte Carlo, where it took first prize.
"This is a major breakthrough in both pain relief and anaesthesia. As well as helping patients recover faster from operations, it also cuts down on the need for strong analgesics such as morphine in a post-operative context," Dr McDonnell explained.
