Plastic surgery and facial plastic surgery procedures like facelifts and neck lifts improve lives here in Inland Empire, but we can never forget today’s opioid crisis.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) states: “The United States is currently seeing the highest overdose death rates ever recorded in the nation’s history. Every day, more than 116 people in the US die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse and addiction to opioids, including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare.”
Because pain must be managed for a few days after a procedure, the ASPS found that of the millions of patients who use opioids as post-surgical painkillers, up to 670,000 will get addicted.
I’m happy to report that we can substantially reduce that risk with a relatively new painkiller, Exparel®.
How Exparel Reduces Post-Surgical Pain Without Opioids
When I perform facelift, neck lift and other facial plastic surgery procedures at my Inland Empire practice, I use Exparel to control pain after the procedure. This time-release formula delivers the potent pain blocker Bupivacaine directly to the area where you need it most. I inject it near the end of your procedure, so that it begins to work when your local anesthetic starts to wear off.
Bupivacaine is officially listed as an Essential Medicine by the World Health Organization. This provides national health systems with a list of the safest and most effective medications. Unlike opioids, it’s not addictive.
Why Do I Recommend Exparel for My Patients?
- Exparel blocks pain right at the site of your surgery. That’s where you need the most pain relief. It does not affect the rest of your body. Opioids, in contrast, affect your whole body, including your brain.
- Exparel is not addictive. Opioid medication is highly addictive.
- Exparel is delivered in one dose. I will administer it during your procedure. You’ll never need to worry about when to take it afterwards.
- Exparel provides pain relief when you need it most, the first few days after your procedure.
- Exparel has proven itself in research to reduce the need for opioid medication.
- Exparel allowed patients to go longer before needing opioids for pain. Patients who didn’t receive Exparel didn’t last as long before they needed to take opioids.
- Exparel patients, if they needed opioids, needed less than those who didn’t receive Exparel. Just as controlling drinking reduces the risk of alcoholism, fewer opioids means a smaller chance of opioid addiction.
If You Choose Exparel, Here’s What to Expect
After plastic surgery in Inland Empire and everywhere else it’s used, your surgeon will administer Exparel before finishing your procedure. He or she will give you a shot right at the site of your surgery, as they would a local anesthetic. You’ll wake up after your procedure with a pain treatment that can last up to 3 days. It often reduces pain better than opioids during that period.
Sometimes, Exparel will completely block pain from your procedure for up to 72 hours. Most patients find it greatly reduces pain, which reduces the need for additional painkillers like opioids. To make sure you have the pain relief you need, I often give my patients a prescription for opioid pain medication like Norco or Percocet. Exparel is a game-changer; the less you need an opioid medication for pain, the lower the risk of opioid dependence.
Exparel, like other medications, can have some side effects, such as nausea. Your doctor will go over these when you’re planning how to manage pain after surgery. For the reasons I outlined here, more and more plastic surgeons now use Exparel. If you’d like it for your facial plastic surgery procedure and you’re in Inland Empire, we use it here at STC Plastic Surgery in Ontario. We believe, as you probably do, that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
To learn more about the many benefits of Exparel and the plastic surgery procedures we offer, please contact us online or call (909)-476-2600 to book your consultation today.