Exparel Injection for Postoperative Orbital Pain
Rochester, MN
After surgery to remove the eye, either by enucleation or evisceration, patients have variable levels of pain for several postoperative days. Some patients have almost no discomfort while others require significant amounts of oral narcotics and report pain of 10 out of 10 on a numerical rating scale. The current operative standard is to infiltrate the eye socket with 0.5% bupivacaine during surgery leading to several hours of postoperative analgesia. In 2011, Pacira Pharmaceuticals released a bupivacaine liposomal injectable suspension (Exparel, 1.3%) which offers sustained release of bupivacaine giving postoperative pain control for up to 72 hours. This medication has ...