PAIN CLINICS

Pain Clinic - The 'Pain Relief Clinic' provides services for acute and chronic malignant and nonmalignant painful conditions.

Acute pain service - An acute 'Pain Relief Service' is run by the department to manage postoperative pain, labour analgesia and trauma pain management. The department offers full time service for evaluation and management of patients who have acute pain. Formal rounds take place twice a day for all patients who require epidural anaesthesia and intravenous patient controlled analgesia. Most referrals to the acute pain service are postoperative, but patients with acute pain like herpes, ischaemic limb pain, pancreatitis etc. are also treated.

Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) - After completion of surgery the patients are attached to PCA device, which contain pain killing medicine. Patient controls the administration of medicine and his pain.

Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) Pump - Provides pain killing medicine and the pain is controlled by the patient giving greater satisfaction.

In majority of patients postoperative pain could be abolished or minimised with modern techniques practice like PCA/PCEA, continuous plexus analgesia, nerve blocks, epidural blocks etc.

Pain Clinic - The department runs a Pain Relief Clinic daily from 10:00am to 4:00 pm.under the supervision of consultants. Here patients of chronic painful conditions such as low backache, myofascial pain, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and neuralgias are treated. Cancer pain relief is a specialty and the quality of life of terminally ill patients can be improved by pharmacological means and by employing various neurolytic blocks such as coeliac plexus and hypogastric block.

PAIN RELIEF CLINIC

Patients are treated for:

• Low back pain

• Cervical pain (neck pain)

• Headache and migraine

• Joint pains

• Postoperative scar pain

• Neuropathic pain and Neuralgia

• Phantom pain after amputation

• Failed back syndrome

• Myofascial pain

• Fibromyalgia

• Spastic pain

• Pain due to peripheral vascular diseases

• Trigeminal Neuralgia (facial pain)

• Cancer pain

PRE-ANAESTHESIA CARE

Pre Anaesthetic Clinic (PAC) - The department runs PAC clinic daily. Patients are examined, assessed and prepared for anaesthesia. Most patients are seen in PAC clinic before listing for surgery especially those with complex medical problems and those being operated on 'DAY CARE' basis. Pre - operative visit - Patients are seen in ward before surgery. The aim is to prepare patient optimally for anaesthesia. Any disease which could jeopardise safe conduction of anaesthesia is identified, treated and brought under control. During the visit the patient is explained about postoperative pain and methods available for providing postoperative analgesia.

WALKING EPIDURALS

Labour Analgesia - The department helps in making child birth pain free. Child birth could be made pain free and enjoyable experience with this facility offered by the department. Labour results in severe pain. Scream and cries due to labour pain are usually associated with unpleasant memories. Patient Controlled Epidural Analgesia (PCEA) provides excellent pain relief. It has the ability to provide pain relief to match the duration of labour. It provides several advantages including the ability to minimise drug dosage, flexibility and benefits of self administration. This technique is of great benefit since self control and maintenance of self esteem are vital to a positive experience in child birth.

RECOVERY CLINICS

Postoperative care (Recovery Room) - is equipped with pulse oximeters, electro- cardiographs, blood pressure monitor, ventilators and Boyle's apparatus. After surgery all patients are observed and treated in recovery room, until they are fit to be transferred to respective rooms.

Postoperative ICU -Postoperative care is supervised by our consultants round the clock in the 6-bedded Surgical Critical Care Unit and 4 bedded ICU for organ transplantation.

Day Care Recovery - Has been effectively in operation for last 12 years providing quality care in a cost effective manner. There is a 12 bedded daycare unit where the patients are discharged the same day after surgery. Patients are admitted in the morning and are discharged the same evening. The development of minimally invasive techniques have facilitated the growth of day care surgery.