MIAMI, Fla.–Catalina Suarez knew from friends and family that the post-operative pain of breast augmentation surgery could be easy to endure – or tough. She didn’t want to take any chances.
So the 28-year-old mom from Pembroke Pines, who recently had breast implants and a breast lift, had something else, too. Her plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Sean Simon, used Exparel.
Like Novocain or Lidocain, this analgesic numbs the area surrounding the surgical and incision site. Yet unlike those local anesthetics, which are effective at the time of a medical procedure and immediately afterward, Exparel is a single-dose, time-released analgesic injected during the procedure.
It then helps manage post-operative pain in the 72 hours immediately following a procedure. This is when the likelihood of discomfort in some patients is most common.
Use of Exparel also can reduce a patient’s need for oral pain medications during those first few days after surgery. In clinical trials, patients noted a 30% reduction in pain, and a 45% decrease in the need for oral pain medications.
For a patient like Suarez, pain was minimized and recovery was comfortable, she says. “They told me it would be less uncomfortable over the weekend. The pain wasn’t bad,” says Suarez, whose only other experience with pain management was an epidural for the birth of her daughter. “I would think that without the Exparel, the pain would have been a lot worse.”
Dr. Simon will start offering Exparel to all patients whose procedures are best suited to its use.
ABOUT DR. SEAN SIMON M.D.
Dr. Sean Simon M.D. is a double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who has run a successful private practice in Miami, FL since 2006. A graduate of the prestigious University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Dr. Simon specializes in the most advanced techniques for procedures such as breast augmentation, breast lift, tummy tuck, body sculpting and buttocks augmentation as well as reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. Additionally he offers Laser Liposculpture, Laser Hair Removal and skin treatments utilizing the most technologically advanced Palomar laser systems. Dr. Simon’s office is located at 6200 Sunset Drive, Suite 501, in Miami, Florida.