At the Center for Pain Relief, we treat patients with compassion and respect as we help them manage their pain. Located at the Medical Office Building at Pine Creek Medical Center in Dallas, our center primarily focuses on interventional pain management but also incorporates medical pain management.
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Intrathecal (Intraspinal) Pain Pump Therapy
I consider this modality of treatment as the last resort in the spectrum of pain therapy. This therapy works by delivering relatively small amounts of medication, usually narcotic medication into the spinal canal, directly to the pain receptors in the spinal cord, thereby blocking the pain sensation from being interpreted as such by the brain. The medication that is required to relieve pain is typically 1-10% of the medication required to give similar relief if it had been given by mouth. Thus a dose of 100 mg of morphine given by mouth to relieve pain may only require 1 mg given in the spinal canal to effectively have the same or better effect. The result of this is that there will be fewer side effects such as sedation, grogginess, confusion, forgetfulness, and thus a better quality of life.
The medication is delivered by an implanted programmable pump which can be instructed by a computer to deliver a continuous dose or a variety of infusion modalities.
Prior to implantation, a trial is usually done which requires an overnight hospital stay. The trial is usually done to see if the intrathecal (intraspinal) narcotic is effective in reducing the patient’s pain, as well as to determine what side effects the patient might have such as itchiness, sedation, nausea, urinary retention etc.
The risks of the surgery include the usual risks of anesthesia and surgery including infection, bleeding, headache, allergic reaction, spinal cord injury , paralysis, inability to relieve pain, urinary retention, pruritus, nausea and vomiting, spinal fluid leak, new pain, accumulation of fluid/blood in the pump pocket site, problems with the catheter including kinks, obstruction, leak, as well as device component failure requiring revision and replacement.
The procedure can be done under IV anesthesia or general anesthesia, with fluoroscopic guidance. Therefore, you are instructed not to eat after midnight, the day prior to surgery. You are also instructed to take a shower and soap your skin well the night before and if possible the day of your surgery. You may take your usual medications with a small sip of water except blood thinners and insulin. You will be kept in the hospital overnight.
The pump is refilled periodically via a small port in the center of the pump and is easily done in the doctor’s office using a small needle and local anesthetic. The pump is then reprogrammed after each refill. Occasionally, the pump may need to be reprogrammed in between refills to reduce or increase the dose of medication using a small computer.