HealthDay reports on a study published in The Journal of Arthroplasty finding that infusing morphine directly into the shin bone may help ease the pain of knee replacement surgery, and includes commentary from HSS hip and knee surgeon Cynthia A. Kahlenberg, MD, MPH, who was not involved in the study.

Dr. Kahlenberg said the results sound “potentially promising.”

She continued, “It's always exciting to see new studies coming out about controlling post-op pain after total knee replacement.”

She explained that despite strides made in pain control, “many patients experience more pain than we'd like after knee replacement surgery.”

Dr. Kahlenberg said larger studies are needed to see if the current findings can be replicated. She also said that many hospitals, including HSS, have begun using an additional regional nerve block during surgery — one that was not employed in this study.

She added, “I'm not sure how much of a difference this new technique would make if the (researchers) were incorporating both of the commonly used regional anesthesia blocks rather than just one.”

Read the full article at Healthday.com.