New injection offers great new knee replacement surgery benefits

Knee replacement surgery patients could benefit widely from the use of a new pain relief therapy, says US research.

A total of 216 people were evaluated for pain control in the first two days after surgery. Half received traditional pain control methods, which involves an injection of a common numbing medicine into the groin area, which reduces sensitivity in the main nerve down the front of the knee. This technique uses a pain pump to extend pain control for two days, but causes some leg weakness.

The other group of patients was given an injection of a new long-acting numbing medicine (called liposomal bupivacaine) into the tissue surrounding the knee during surgery.

Pain scores for the new injection technique averaged about three out of 10, which is similar to scores achieved with traditional methods. But patients achieved better knee function with the new drug compared with the traditional method, with pain relief lasting for up to two days after surgery. The therapy helped patients to walk comfortably within hours of surgery.

“In the past decade, we’ve made major advancements in pain control for knee replacement surgery,” explains Dr Jason Davis, who led the work. “This option is a promising, viable one for our patients.”