What are cold therapy devices (cryotherapy) and pain pumps, and are they necessary for surgery?
These devices can help decrease pain, swelling, and inflammation after surgery. Even without the devices, you will have numbing medication injected at the end of surgery which typically lasts 3-5 hours; this will give you enough time to return home and start taking your oral pain medications. The cold therapy devices are sterile pads incorporated into the post-operative dressings; the pads are attached by rubber tubing to motorized “igloos” which circulate ice-cold water through the pads. This is a controlled method of applying ice to a post-operative wound. One can use a frozen bag of peas or corn kernels as well, but the penetration through the dressing may not be that high, and care must be taken to not get the dressings wet. The cold therapy devices may continue to be used for weeks after the surgery such as after physical therapy appointments. The pain pumps are automated devices that infuse numbing medication (like novocaine) into the wound via a small catheter. These usually las
