Pain Pump in Rancho Mirage
Minimally invasive pain relief treatment
What is a Pain Pump?
At Desert Pain Specialists we offer the intrathecal pain pump procedure to deliver small preprogrammed doses of pain medication to your body throughout the day. This is a safe yet effective pain management procedure that can control your symptoms of pain. It is more effective to have the pain pump deliver medication directly to your spinal cord than taking oral medication. Therefore, the amount of medication needed for pain treatment is reduced along with its side effects. The pain pump is often used to offer pain relief from spinal cord injuries and conditions.
Pain Pump Benefits
- Efficiently reduces pain compared to oral medication
- Reduces your pain medication intake
- Control over pain pump’s programmer
- Customizable treatment based on your needs
- Improves your body’s function in daily activities
- Reversible procedure if the pump is no longer needed
Candidates for Pain Pump
You could qualify for a pain pump if you are suffering from chronic pain and are looking for pain relief without oral pain medications. More specifically, the ideal candidates for an intrathecal pain pump have experienced the following:
- Dependent on pain medications
- Lack of success from conservative treatments
- Suffering from chronic pain
- Have medical clearance to undergo implantation
- Responded well to trial medication
Pain Pump Procedure Process
Consultation
In the first phase, Dr. Lai will perform a thorough consultation consisting of a quick physical exam and imaging tests to see if you are an ideal candidate for a pain pump. He will also go over all the trial information, details of the procedure, necessary prescriptions, as well as the recovery process. During this, you can freely ask Dr. Lai any questions or concerns you may be having.
Trial Medication
For the next phase, we will schedule either trial injections or a trial period where we test and monitor your response to the pain medication. The way and amount of medication you receive can vary depending on the severity of your case. You can either receive one to multiple injections or enter a trial period with a catheter. Dr. Lai will then evaluate your response to the medication. Once it has been proven successful, we’ll schedule your pain pump procedure.
Procedure
The actual pain pump procedure only takes around 3 to 4 hours during which you will be under anesthesia to ensure a more comfortable and seamless experience. First, a small incision is made on your back in order for Dr. Lai to place the catheter within the spinal cord. Then the extension catheter is inserted beneath your skin connecting from the catheter at the spine and around to your abdomen where the pain pump will be placed. Only one other incision is made to place the pump on the side of your abdomen. To finish off, Dr. Lai will expertly close the incisions.
Recovery for Pain Pump
To ensure that the pain pump procedure was successful, you will be monitored immediately after but you will still be able to leave during the same day of the procedure. We will prescribe you with medications to relieve the temporary discomfort and inflammation in the areas around the incisions after the procedure. Dr. Lai will further discuss with you the activities that you should avoid for around 6 to 8 weeks following the procedure.
Our patients at Desert Pain Specialists typically see an effective reduction in pain from the pain pump resulting in an overall improvement in their quality of life. We will schedule follow-up appointments in order for Dr. Lai to evaluate your healing process, pain management status, and maintenance. Dr. Lai will be able to then monitor, refill and program the pain medication so that it can continue to help you with pain relief in your daily life.
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