Epidural during surgery??

[KBear]

Will someone who understand this better than me explain the reasons for epidural during and after surgery. I was trying to tell another member about it, but don't know enough (other than you want one ) thanks

[ajj1001]

i had one put on before my 2 level ADR for
pain relief afterwards. it played no role in my
op. it was not successful for pain relief afterwards. I could feel one side.

[Katie]

Kathy, I first heard of this from the doctors at Stenum when I was trying to get over there for surgery.

Their thought is that even with a general anesthetic without an additional epidural, the body still feels pain. This causes much more stress and increases the amount of pain felt post-op.

Whether or not many think that theory is valid, I can tell you that this past surgery was incredibly easy to recover from, and I felt much, much better than I did after my hysterectomy seven years ago. I requested the epidural for during and after the surgery, and the only real increase in pain after it was withdrawn was distraction pain in my legs, an irritating burning sensation.

Those two days of relative calm after surgery helped my healing immensely. The body heals more quickly if it isn't battling pain...I was more relaxed and had more energy to put into the right areas.

My best friend is a veterinarian and is a huge believer in pain control and how it helps the animals cope post-op. She said that pain alone can actually kill an animal, but they are usually so good at covering up the signs of pain that it is easy for it to get ahead of them. Not me...if I am miserable the whole world knows it

I hope that helps answer your question.

[Greg]

Will someone who understand this better than me explain the reasons for epidural during and after surgery. I was trying to tell another member about it, but don't know enough (other than you want one ) thanks

In addition to keeping you comfortable, pain control can help you recover faster and may reduce your risk of developing certain complications after surgery, such as pneumonia and blood clots. If your pain is well controlled, you will be better able to complete important tasks such as walking and deep breathing exercises. Having an epidural after surgery (although it's not fail safe and a complete guarantee of pain relief) in my opinion is your best chance of getting complete pain relief after surgery....especially if you are tolerant to pain medication or have been taking pain medicine for a while. In order to have an epidural during and after surgery there needs to be an anesthesiologist on hand the entire time to moitor you and make any necessary adjustments. Some smaller hospitals (like the one I had my L4-S1 ALIF at) do not have the ability to offer an epidural for the 1st 24-48 hours after surgery when pain is usually at its highest and their is greatest need for relief.

I want to say mre but I keep doxing off at the computer so I'm gonna get a little more shut eye and get back to you later!

[Justin]

The reason epidurals are done is for pain control. Epidurals can be with or without a catheter. Most, if not every, patient where I am currently working get an epidural with a catheter preop so that meds can easily be administered post-op. As Greg mentioned above, more pain relief = faster recovery (in most cases) which allows patients to ambulate earlier and they can thus be discharged from the hospital sooner.

Posted from a Mobile Device

[Keano16]

In state of the art spine surgery, where most of surgeries are "aware state", one possibility is of anesthesia is epidural injection, its sometimes called neuraxial anesthesia. Unfortunately, most of traditional spine surgeries still include full anesthesia.

With minimally-invasive procedures, patients usually get light sedations or spinal block (like epidural injection) and then after the surgery, they don't get the new epidural like you mention...doctors insert small amounts of steroids around the nerve root or inside the disc to treat the inflammation.

[trkdoc714]

I had the "twilight" sedation which included the epidural. They also gave me two tablets (take the blue pill, Neo). Although I was pretty much out of it through the operation, I was aware of what was going on during parts of the surgery. I vaguely remember the getting the excision of disc material and later, the tapping in of a Maverick.

It might have the power of suggestion from Stenum's distractors but I might have been awake during the cocktail break as well. I think I was wheeled past the lounge on the way to the operation room. I think Ozzie Osborne was on stage.....

After surgery the epidural was left in until the second day after surgery. The pain at that point was easily controlled and only a small percentage of the pain I experienced before surgery. The only discomfort I remember was after the effects wore off but the oxycodone managed that pain very well.

[Justin]

It might have the power of suggestion from Stenum's distractors but I might have been awake during the cocktail break as well. I think I was wheeled past the lounge on the way to the operation room. I think Ozzie Osborne was on stage.....

Anesthesia is great.

[KBear]

Thank you all for the responses!

[Metalneck07]

Thanks Kathy for starting this thread.And thanks for all the feedback on this topic.
With my upcoming surgery date planned I will definetly be inquring with my doctor on this.
I have had 2 surgeries now on my spine and have had numerous problems with anesthesia and
pain control after.I sure do not want to this time the Epidural sounds like a good idea.
Thanks for the Information.
Caitlin aka.metalneck07