Botox Could Reduce Pain During
Breast Reconstruction
Behind
the Cancer Headlines®
Botox
, a household name for wrinkle reduction,
could be assuming a new role as a pain reliever. In a study presented at the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons Plastic Surgery 2004 conference in
"As surgeons, our top
priorities are the safety and comfort of our patients," said Julio
Hochberg, MD, co-author of the study. "We are always searching for ways to
decrease pain for breast reconstruction patients and found that using Botox after surgery significantly decreased the pain and discomfort
they experienced."
The study examined women who had
mastectomies, followed by breast reconstruction with tissue expanders. The
tissue expanders, balloon like devices, were placed beneath the pectoral muscle
and slowly inflated to allow time for the tissue to stretch and ultimately
accommodate a breast implant.
Unfortunately, tissue expansion
causes muscle spasms and additional pain. By injecting the muscles with Botox, the spasms, pain, and discomfort significantly
decreased.
In this study, Hochberg found
patients who received Botox injections used 89
percent less morphine in the first 24 hours after surgery, had their hospital
stay reduced by one day, and required three fewer physician visits than the
control group to achieve the targeted tissue expansion before placing the
breast implant.
"Many general surgeons could
clearly see the relief my patients received when I administered Botox to the affected muscles," said Hochberg.
"Now, many of these surgeons are using the injectable
for their own patients to help manage pain after certain surgeries of the chest
and abdomen."
SOURCES:
American Society of Plastic
Surgeons Plastic Surgery 2004 conference,
American Society of Plastic
Surgeons (http://www.plasticsurgery.org)