Pain After Open Heart Surgery
Pain Medication Inhibits Healing. What Can Post-Op Heart Surgery Patients Take Instead?
Most patients experience moderate to severe pain after open-heart surgery. Pain medication is usually the recommended remedy. But blindly dousing the pain can lead to severe problems later on.
Side effects of pain medication after open-heart surgery
Six in ten patients experience moderate to severe pain after open-heart surgery. Current strategies address the problem with increased opioid prescriptions to alleviate this symptomatic pain.
Unfortunately, increased drug consumption prolongs the bone-healing process far beyond the expected period of 6 to 8 weeks. The result can be a non-union of the two chest bone halves, leading to lifelong instability.
Complications during the healing period can also lead, in severe cases, to death within four years of the heart operation, according to a study performed at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
But even when death does not occur, improper healing often results in lifelong pain and dependence on opioids. Not only is this extremely costly in the long term, but it also greatly reduces the quality of life.
How to ensure proper healing after open-heart surgery
After the operation, the breastbone is closed with single or double stainless steel wires. The wires are strong. But because they are only 1 mm in width, they can easily cut into the bone.
A strong cough by the patient, or even just the normal, regular movement of breathing, can cause the wires to cut into the bone. The result is a wobble and friction which leads to pain, infections, and improper bone-healing.
The solution is a simple yet ingenious breathable vest that stabilizes the post-op chest area and thereby reduces friction, pain, and the risk of infections, encouraging maximal healing.
The design is the brainchild of leading heart surgeon Dr. Lars Svensson, Chief of the Cleveland Clinic Heart Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Since its development, the vest has been tested in numerous clinical trials with consistently excellent results in reducing pain and infection.
The vest is available for use in ICUs and also for home use from posthorax.com where you can also access all the clinical trial findings.
The Posthorax Sternum Vest has proven to improve the healing process of the sternum bone and prevent pain, infections and lung complications.
To read more about the clinical evidence of the Posthorax Vest, go to the "Solution" section of this website.
To try a demo Posthorax Vest in your department, please send us an email to: Info@posthorax.com