Post-Surgical Pain Management Specialist in Tampa, FL
Acute pain due to surgery, trauma, and disease can be debilitating. Depending on the reason for your pain, the following therapies can be tailored to obtain optimal pain relief for you. Having personally performed more than 8,000 nerve blocks at the Mayo Clinic, Tampa General Hospital and at TampaPainMD, Dr. Kalava can perform one of these blocks to efficiently manage your pain.
At TampaPainMD, we are committed to reducing post-operative pain and assisting you with the early phases of rehabilitation from any surgical procedure. Our clinic is a state-of-the art facility which provides safe and effective pain management options for all surgical patients, using only opioid-free treatments.
We always use a multi-modal approach to control postoperative pain. This means that several different types of pain medications are used to help reduce pain in different ways. This approach to pain management helps limit the side effects of high doses of one pain reliever while enjoying the benefits of pain relief from a different, complementary technique.
We pride ourselves in providing ambulatory continuous nerve blocks to minimize and nearly eliminate pain from a surgical procedure. With these home nerve catheters, extra doses can be given to control pain during peaks of discomfort. This method of pain management has been associated with higher levels of patient satisfaction, better pain control, and fewer side effects. We can slowly transition you over to oral opioid-free pain medications in a few days after your surgery.
Prescription pain medication, most often and most commonly known as opioids, used to treat pain may have side effects ranging from nausea and vomiting to dependence and addiction. While there is a need for some opioids after surgery, our physician only uses opioid-free modalities, with results comparable or superior to opioid use. In many cases, we will try to decrease the need for opioids during your recovery.
Nerve blocks, continuous nerve blocks, and local anesthetics are just a few non-opioid approaches to pain control for patients following surgery.
Other non-opioid approaches to pain management include anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-seizure medications, and muscle relaxers that are used in tandem with other methods to help reduce pain after surgery. The use of alternative therapies, such as deep breathing exercises, may be incorporated into your treatment as well.
Ketamine is an anesthetic medication. It is a schedule 3 dissociative anesthetic, which has shown promising antidepressant effects that are both rapid and robust. It has been safely used for years as the ideal anesthetic in hospital and medical settings. When used under medical supervision, studies have shown ketamine infusions to have significant effects in healing treatment-resistant depression. It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines because of its safety and efficacy for anesthesia.
More recently, ketamine has been discovered as a safe and effective treatment for depression, and randomized controlled trials have shown rapid improvement in mood as well as reduction in suicidality compared to people who receive a placebo or another drug. Ketamine has the ability to go to work right away, unlike most antidepressants, which take weeks, sometimes months, to provide relief.
Ketamine infusion therapy is an IV procedure performed in-office by Dr. Kalava. Dr. Kalava & his associates will monitor your response and level of consciousness throughout the infusion.
Please contact our office to discuss Ketamine Infusion Therapy, and see if it is right for you.
The most important factors when choosing a ketamine provider are the doctor’s experience and commitment to providing safe, compassionate care. Dr. Kalava is the nation’s leading practitioner of ketamine infusion therapy and is a recognized expert in the field of anesthesiology.
[Scientific articles on Ketamine published by Dr. Kalava: Article 1 & Article 2 ]
Every patient is unique and deserves special care. Whether determining dose, infusion duration, the number of initial infusions, or the interval between return visits, we make individual assessments and structure ketamine treatments to match each patient’s response and unique needs.
Low dose ketamine is administered by Dr. Kalava, who is a Double Board Certified, Mayo Clinic fellowship trained Anesthesiologist. Ketamine, as we know, is an anesthetic and is best administered under the constant vigilance of a qualified anesthesiologist.
Depending on the medical condition being treated, IV ketamine can be administered over 1 minute, 40 minutes, one hour, or 4 hours. The actual type of treatment will be discussed with you during your initial consultation. The number of infusions and duration of ketamine therapy varies and is individualized. An average of 6-8 treatments are required for a good clinical response.
Mild psychotomimetic (confusion, hallucinations) effects, increase in heart rate, blood pressure, mild headache, and nausea are possible in some patients and are usually well tolerated.
