To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Bupivacaine Brings Post-Op Pain Relief for Women Undergoing Mastectomy: Presented at ASBS URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/220B8E.htm Doctor's Guide May 6, 2008
By Carole Bullock NEW YORK -- May 6, 2008 -- Bupivacaine demonstrated significantly better postoperative pain control in women undergoing mastectomy compared with botulinum toxin or no wound infiltration, investigators reported here at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS) 9th Annual Meeting. "[Bupivacaine] provides an effective and inexpensive method to reduce postoperative pain and narcotic use among patients undergoing mastectomy," Keiva L. Bland, MD, Surgery Fellow, Disease of the Breast, and Instructor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, reported in a poster session on May 3. Patients given bupivacaine had significant and marked reduction in pain compared with those not given the medicine, Dr. Bland said in an interview, "and this could be an inexpensive but very effective treatment for pain relief for patients undergoing mastectomy." His research team conducted the study because postoperative pain following breast procedures continues to be of "great concern," Dr. Bland explained. Even though botulinum toxin is the mainstay for alleviating postoperative pain following tissue expander placement, it can be costly, and there is ongoing research to find safer and more effective alternatives. The study explored the pain-relief efficacy of intraoperative bupivacaine or botulinum toxin wound infiltration versus nothing, following mastectomy without reconstruction. The retrospective review included 153 women undergoing unreconstructed mastectomy and given 1 of 3 treatments: intraoperative bupivacaine, botulinum toxin, or no local wound infiltration (control group). The cohort of patients was treated at a single institution from January 2003 through December 2006. Fifty-one patients had no local wound infiltration, 40 patients received bupivacaine, and 62 patients receive botulinum toxin. The study's aim to was investigate postoperative pain, which could be qualified by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain rating, postoperative narcotic use, and use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). There was a statistically significant difference in postoperative VAS scores between those who received bupivacaine versus those given no treatment (2.02 vs 3.67; P = .001), and bupivacaine versus botulinum toxin (2.02 vs 4.06; P = .0001). In addition, bupivacaine-treated patients had lower use of narcotics (morphine or morphine equivalent) compared with those in the control group (1.99 vs 4.45, P = .002), and the same was the case for bupivacaine versus botulinum toxin (1.99 vs 4.53, P = .002). "There was no significant difference in PCA use during hospitalisation or VAS at the first postoperative visit," noted Dr. Bland. She said she sees no limitation for the use of bupivacaine in terms of patient selection. "We didn't see any difference in terms of pain relief for the different types of tumours," she observed. [Presentation title: Postoperative Pain Reduction Following Mastectomy Using Local Wound Infiltration. Abstract P32] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.