Treatments: UAE: Sedation & Analgesic

No invasive procedure is entirely painless. With UAE, the procedure itself is largely painless, but patients develop significant "crampy" pain after the procedure. Most describe this as similar to menstrual cramps or labor. The cramping tends to start shortly after the procedure is completed. Because of this discomfort, all patients receive medications for sedation and analgesia (pain control) during and after the procedure.

Sedation serves two purposes. One is to relax the patient during the procedure, which makes it easier for everyone. The other is to decrease the pain the patient may feel, both during and after the procedure.

I feel that all patients need at least some medication. I have had a few patients who wanted to 'go bare' and then reversed their decision within an hour of the completion of the procedure. Unfortunately, it is much easier to control pain if you stay ahead of it (by preloading the patient with meds) than to get on top of it once it starts. Those few patients who have attempted to go without regretted it, and so do I in those cases. I will no longer go along with this request.

On the other hand, I do not use general anesthesia. The discomfort associated with UAE does not warrant putting any patient to sleep. General anesthesia would significantly increase the risk of complications from the procedure, and prolong recovery time. While I do not put any patient to sleep; many patients are sufficiently relaxed during the procedure that they fall asleep.

There are a variety of sedation/analgesia protocols used for UAE. I offer a choice between Conscious Sedation and Spinal Analgesia. Some physicians may offer Epidural anesthesia.

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