Houston Plastic Surgery Blog

One of the factors that cause patients to decide against tummy tuck surgery is the prospect of post-operative pain. While all patients will experience some post-operative pain, it can be greatly reduced with the use of a pain pump. A pain pump is a device that feeds a local anesthetic directly to the surgery site. The local anesthetic is non-narcotic, and will not interfere with your cognitive function.

The pain pump works by using small tubes that lead from a device directly to the surgical wound area. Immediately after you wake up in the recovery room, the pump will begin to administer anesthetic. Most patients wear the pump for three or four days following tummy tuck surgery.

Many tummy tuck patients find that the pain pump greatly reduces their pain, and speeds up the tummy tuck recovery process. This means that tummy tuck patients are ambulatory faster, which reduces the instances of blood clots in the legs. Many tummy tuck patients also find that the pain pump reduces post-surgery nausea. After the pain pump is removed, you may choose to use pain medication to manage any further pain.

If you want to know more about pain pumps and tummy tuck surgery, please contact Houston, Texas area plastic surgeon, Dr. Leo Lapuerta, to schedule a consultation.