I use them, but rarely.  During surgery, we put in long-acting topical anesthetics, so the patient is comfortable immediately post-op.  It’s so we can control their biggest discomfort, which is during the first few hours when they wake up.

We use pain pumps for some abdominoplasty. It gives a little bit of local anesthetic to the area placated with a tummy tuck.  It numbs your muscles for a couple of hours.  The jury is still out on them.  A lot of doctors use them and a lot don’t.  I use them with breast reconstruction or mastectomies. Any surgery where there is a lot of pain. The problem is that often times if a patient is in a lot of pain it notifies us there could possibly be blood under the flap, a pain pump can mask symptoms. 

I use pain pumps in tummy tucks. This is a device that pumps in local anesthetic where the abdominal muscles have been tightened. It markedly reduces pain after surgery and is removed several days later much as one takes out an IV – painless and quick.