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WellSpan physician performs opioid-free orthopedic surgery
Listen to this articleAn orthopedic surgeon with York-based WellSpan Health is performing surgery on all patients under the age of 25 without prescribing opioids, as a way to reduce exposure to the narcotic drugs.
“Eliminating opioids after surgery is definitely a trend and a push in orthopedics in general,” Dr. Michael Day said in a release. “There is an awareness of how problematic opioids have been for our society, and a lot of people are happy not to introduce them in their care.”
Since 2019, WellSpan clinicians have focused efforts to replace opioids with other pain relief treatments on cesarean sections, hernia repairs, gallbladder surgeries, spinal fusions and total knee and total hip replacements.
For those procedures, WellSpan has decreased opioid use by 46% in that time, which is equivalent to more than 141,000 5 mg oxycodone tablets now not being prescribed.
The pain relief methods Day prescribes for his young surgery patients include a medicine that decreases inflammation, a nerve medication, over-the-counter Tylenol and use of an ice machine.
Day first began forgoing opioid prescriptions for patients under 25 who were undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He then extended the practice to all orthopedic patients under 25.
If their pain gets too severe, patients can contact Day for a stronger prescription. But during the past year, he said, no one has called.
Paula Wolf is a freelance writer
