Is a pain pump offered with a tummy tuck to reduce pain afterwards?

Pain pumps are tiny catheters placed by your surgeon during your procedure that from an automated pump instil local anaesthetic around your abdominal muscles in the first 20 or so hours after tummy tuck surgery. I find that they work really well.
They can sometimes be rebatable through your health fund and up to you whether it's something you'd consider. The alternative is to inject long acting local anaesthetic into the sheath around the abdominal muscles during your surgery. I find that this works really well too, but generally wears off after about 8 hrs (as opposed to the pain pump that I continue for about 20hrs).
Something to talk about at your consultation!

The first few days after a tummy tuck I tell my patients that they will be moving slowly.  It is not agonizing, just slow.  The reason for this is good analgesia.I use a number of tricks with the goal of minimizing discomfort, minimizing side effects, minimizing complexity, and minimizing cost.I use a combination of long acting pain relief that I inject during surgery and some pain medications that are inexpensive and work on a variety of different pain receptors thereafter.  I don't use a pain pump because of complexity and cost.  I have never found my patients to be uncomfortable and in need of such a device.  It is not to say that they don't work well.  They are just not necessary in my opinion. Dr. Rodger Shortt is a plastic surgeon in Oakville, Ontario.  His strives to provide the best plastic surgery results and care.  He is one of few plastic surgeons in Canada with a top rating on RealSelf, RateMD and Ontario Doctor Review.  He is the Director of Cosmetic Surgery Training Program and an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University.

A pain pump has a reservoir bulb of a numbing medication that slowly infuses into the surgical area through tiny catheters. Several years ago I switched to Exparel, which is a slow release form of a numbing medication that doesn't require the bulb and catheter apparatus. We now place it with a technique called a TAP block which seems to make it more effective.

thank you for your question. Pain pump is a good option for pain relief after muscle repair with tummy tuck. However they can be cumbersome and messy at times. Now I exclusively use Experel which is a longer acting pain medication. It works very well. I still offer pain pump option to patients if they really want it.
It's best to have a thorough in person consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area to discuss all of your treatment options. Best of luck!
Dr. Dhaval M.PatelDouble Board Certified Plastic SurgeonChicago-Water Tower Place, Oakbrook, Hoffman Estates, South Barrington 

For almost a decade, we used pain pumps to deliver local numbing medicine to the surgical site after tummy tucks and breast augmentation. Since 2013, I have used Exparel, a longer acting numbing medication that we inject one time during surgery. This has provided better post-operative pain control than the pumps. In fact, almost none of our tummy tuck or breast augmentation patients require any narcotic pain pills following surgery!

While a pain pump can be helpful, I have gotten away from them and instead inject a long acting pain medication ( exparel) directly into the tissues.  This works better than the pain pumps and takes away the hassle of having to take care of and remove the pain pump/ catheters.  I hope this helps.

Thanks for your inquiry, I use a pain pump with almost all full tummy tucks with muscle repair.  I believe it is extremely effective at reducing pain,  good luck.  

Hello lexigirlt1,A variety of modalities can be used to help with pain control after a TT.  Less pain means you will move sooner after surgery which means a faster and lower risk recovery.  Different PS have different protocols they use to help alleviate pain after surgery.  These protocols can include narcotics, nsaids (ibuprofen), muscle relaxants, long acting local anesthetics and pain pumps. In our practice we use a combination of narcotics, muscle relaxants and a long acting local anesthetic called Exparel to provide excellent post surgical pain relief.  Outpatient pain pumps can add additional items to take care of and the injected Exparel provides excellent pain relief without the additional drain care.  Be sure to ask you PS about their specific protocol before any surgery so you know what to expect with your recovery.Best of Luck!Dr. Rednam

Each surgeon may offer a pain pump but there may be an additional cost. In our practice, we offer an Rapid Recovery technique which includes an abdominal "block" by the anesthesiologist. This offers great pain control after surgery. See example in the link below. 

Thank you for the question. Good pain control after tummy tuck is very important for many reasons. Besides the important concern of patient comfort, good pain control allows for better/easier deep breathing exercises and ambulation. These measures may lead to decreased incidences of pulmonary complications and/or thromboembolic phenomenon.
These days plastic surgeons have many options when it comes to pain control after tummy tuck surgery. The use of narcotic medication, muscle relaxants, non-narcotics, pain control pumps, and long-lasting local anesthetics have made the postoperative experience much better than in the past. The specific modalities/medications used will vary from one practice to another.
In our practice, all patients undergoing, tummy tuck surgery receive a postoperative pain control pump.  You may find the attached link, dedicated to tummy tuck surgery concerns, helpful to you as you learn more. Best wishes.