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Pain Pumps

Procura Pain and Spine Our Services Pain Pumps
Procura Pain and Spine - - Pain Management

Procura Pain and Spine

Pain Management located in The Woodlands, Shenandoah, TX

It can be devastating to live with a chronic pain condition that doesn't respond to available treatments. If you're in this position, Kenneth Wu, MD, Thomas White, MD, and Yoann Millet, MD, of Procura Pain and Spine in Shenandoah, Texas, can help by implanting a pain pump. These devices deliver regular doses of powerful painkilling medications that are far more effective and safer than oral medication. Find out if you can benefit from having a pain pump by calling the office or schedule an appointment online today.

Pain Pumps Q & A

What is a pain pump?

An implantable pain pump is a device that helps relieve chronic pain. The pump sends small quantities of medication directly into the intrathecal space surrounding your spinal cord, preventing pain signals sent by your nerves from being recognized by your brain.

Because intrathecal medication goes straight to the nerves responsible for your pain, these pumps offer many a dramatic improvement in their symptoms. In addition, the dose you require for effective pain relief is less than you need with oral drugs.

As a result, you're less likely to experience common side effects of oral medication like:

  • Sleepiness
  • Upset stomach
  • Vomiting
  • Constipation

 

Procura Pain and Spine team can also prescribe powerful pain medicines that are only available via a pump, providing an additional level of pain management.

When might I need a pain pump?

Pain pumps offer hope to patients with severe, ongoing pain that significantly impacts their day-to-day lives. In addition, many patients with chronic pain benefit from the wide range of other treatments available at Procura Pain and Spine, including:

  • Steroid injections
  • Nerve blocks
  • Radiofrequency ablation
  • Spinal cord stimulation
  • Dorsal root ganglion stimulation
  • Minimally invasive spine procedures

 

If you've received these treatments with no success, a pain pump could offer you much-needed relief.

What does having a pain pump involve?

Before your provider at Procura Pain and Spine implants a pain pump, you have a trial to determine if intrathecal pain medication is adequate for your condition. If the trial offers you pain relief of 50% or more, your provider can discuss permanent pump implantation.

To fit the trial pain pump, your provider numbs your skin and inserts a catheter (a slim, flexible pipe) into the intrathecal space in your spine. The catheter connects to a temporary external pump that you use for several days.

You and your provider at Procura Pain and Spine then decide whether permanent pain pump implantation might benefit you.

What happens during permanent pain pump implantation?

If you go ahead with pain pump implantation, your provider performs the procedure under a general anesthetic. They remove the trial catheter and replace it with a permanent one, going from the intrathecal space, under your skin, and around to your abdomen.

Your provider makes an incision in your skin to create a space for the pump, then attaches it to your catheter, inserts the pump in the gap, and seals the wound. Finally, they program the pain pump using a wireless controller.

If you think a pain pump could help relieve your treatment-resistant pain, call Procura Pain and Spine or book an appointment online today.