Pain Reduction with Negative Pressure on Surgical Site Incisions

Postoperative pain management for surgery in the lower extremities has historically been managed mechanically through the use of elevation, ice, compression and drains. Pharmacological management includes the use of nerve blocks and analgesics. Due to the current opioid crisis, new methods are being sought to reduce post-operative pain so that patients are at lower risk for opioid addiction. Postoperative edema control is vital to reduce tension on the incision, since increased incisional tension may cause an increase in pain at the surgical site. Ice, elevation, compression and drains all contribute to edema reduction, and thereby reduce pain and incisional tension. This report introduces a new method for post-operative pain control in lower-extremity surgery. In the author's present clinical experience with 15 patients, the application of negative pressure at the incision site using the PREVENA™ Incision Management System (KCI USA, Inc., San Antonio, TX) was associated with a decrease in post-operative pain as well as a decrease in the use of narcotics for post-operative pain management.