What Happens After the Procedure?
Once the catheter is placed, it will be injected with medication,
usually a local anesthetic and/or a narcotic. We will assess that the
catheter is functioning correctly by observing for signs of pain
relief from the medications, as well as development of numbness from
the local anesthetic. You will be monitored for 20 to 40 minutes by a
nurse and a Pain Management physician. If there are no signs of
problems, you will be ready to leave the recovery area and return to
your hospital room.
Your epidural catheter will be dosed with medications on either an
intermittent or continuous basis based on the determination of the
Pain Management physician. The catheter is designed for short term use
only and is normally removed prior to discharge from the hospital. In
some cases patients are discharged home with the catheter and are
managed at home with the assistance of a home nursing agency.
If you have any questions after the procedure, the medical staff of
the Pain Management Center is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. During normal business hours, you can reach either the nurse of
physician by calling 650-723-6238. After hours, the physician on call
can be reached by calling the Stanford Hospital page operator at 650-723-6661.
Postprocedure instructions
These will be provided for you, in further detail, by the nurse,
prior to your discharge from the hospital. Before going home, the
catheter will be removed and the insertion site will be dressed with a
gauze dressing.
If you go home with the temporary epidural catheter in place, the
catheter insertion site will be dressed with a clear plastic dressing.
This allows you to be able to monitor the site for any signs of
infection such as redness or swelling. Your home nursing agency will
change the dressing as ordered and also inspect the site for any
evidence of infection or problems.