Pain Management with GOPump™ & GOBlock™
Most people who need surgery are primarily concerned with how much pain they will feel afterwards. Fear of that pain can even mean putting off a necessary procedure for some.
In the past, narcotics have been the way to treat this pain, often with many side effects ranging from nausea to dependency. Now there is a way to relieve pain that doesn’t require narcotics!
The GOPump™ Rapid Recovery System treats your pain directly at the source. A catheter is inserted into the surgical site delivering a local anesthetic (a pain numbing medication similar to receiving numbing medication at the dentist). This method provides relief for postopertive pain immediately without all the harsh side effects. Not only should it decrease the amount of narcotics needed, if any, it also means recovery and rehabilitation times are shortened. Patients receiving a GOPump™ Rapid Recovery System are often up and moving just hours after surgery!
Your physician may decide to provide you with the GOBlock™ Continuous Peripheral Nerve Block System as an alternative. The difference is that a GOPump™ numbs the immediate area around the surgical site, while a GOBlock™ is a nerve block, numbing all the peripheral nerves of the leg or arm, for example. Local and nerve block anesthesia are different than general anesthesia, which affects the entire body. See picture below for clarification:
When using the Symbios GOPump™ Rapid Recovery System or the GOBlock™ Continuous Peripheral Nerve Block System:
- Make sure there are no leaks from the system
- Make sure the tubing is not kinked
- If the pump should fail, stop the medication flow by pinching off the tube with the clamp (see diagrams below)
- Keep the pump and tubing out of the reach of children
- Be careful not to get the pump wet. When taking a shower, place the pump outside the shower or cover with a plastic bag
- Occassionally check the medication levels to ensure the pump is working. The tan colored “balloon” visible inside the plastic housing will shrink over time indicating the flow of medication.
- Please not that the rate of change is so slow that you will not be able to watch it move. The medication will be fully dispensed when the “balloon” becomes visibly flat on all sides, appearing like a thick pencil.
WARNING: do not remove the tubing from the pump or cut the catheter.