Pain after surgery and its prevention is an important topic in the healthcare sector. To give you a few figures: in 2021, around 8.1 million outpatient operations were performed in Germany, and the trend is rising.
For this reason, a representative survey of 330000 patients was conducted on this topic (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2024; 121: 71-8; DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2023.0235). This study found that postoperative wound pain after outpatient surgery occurs in 22.5% of patients. In the case of haemorrhoid and other rectal operations, as many as 51.2% suffer significant pain (severity at least 4 on the scale up to 10) within the first 3 days. These procedures are therefore the most painful, followed by abdominal and foot operations.
The result confirms the common opinion that hemorrhoid operations are simply always painful and this was also my own experience during my residency in various clinics.
Since my specialization, it has therefore always been important to me to make the post-operative phase as pleasant and pain-free as possible for my patients.
That is why we have established various measures in our practice.
First of all, we know how important it is for patients to feel comfortable in the practice, that the operation and the time before and after it are as pleasant as possible.
This starts with the family atmosphere in the practice. We are a well-coordinated team that has worked well together for many years. We have fun at work!
Before the operation (or at home if you wish) you will be given a relaxing medication.
During the preparation phase, you will be given an injection to anaesthetize the pelvic floor area. In addition, a local anesthetic is injected directly into the wound during the operation and a pain-relieving suppository is administered. This means that the anesthesia does not have to be as strong and you will hardly feel any pain immediately after the operation.
The anesthesia is induced with modern medication, which also has a relaxing effect. Naturally, our patients receive all-round care and support from experienced anesthetists and anesthesia assistants.
No stress: After the operation, you can rest with us and are provided with sufficient and strong painkillers.
But even if you have already left the clinic, you can still reach us by cell phone outside of our practice opening hours, which gives you the security of being able to reach your surgeon if necessary.
We have not yet conducted a study in our practice, but based on patient surveys and our own observations, we can say that the proportion of patients suffering from pain after surgery is significantly lower than in the above-mentioned study. And we are a little proud of that.
Picture: Edvard Munch “The Scream”