HealthLeaders featured a study conducted led by Stavros G. Memtsoudis, MD, PhD, HSS anesthesiologist, on the effectiveness of liposomal bupivacaine, a local anesthetic drug, during total knee replacement surgery. Findings indicated that the medication did not reduce in-hospital opioid prescriptions or opioid-related complications in patients managing post-surgical pain.

The local anesthetic is designed to provide pain control for up to three days.

Dr. Memtsoudis said "local anesthesia is one mode that has been proposed as being part of a multimodal approach to reducing opioid consumption. But we found that adding liposomal bupivacaine to the mix did not add significant benefit."

According to the article, the study reviewed data from 88,830 total knee replacements between 2013 and 2016.

"It does not seem to be the silver bullet physicians have been hoping for," Dr. Memtsoudis noted.

Read the full article at healthleadersmedia.com.