A few months ago, he decided to have a pump surgically placed inside his abdomen to deliver pain medication throughout the day. The pump looks like a silver hockey puck and the inside is filled with pain medication, which is released continually and directly to the lower spinal cord. Pumps have given Mr. Thompson and other chronic pain sufferers an effective way to manage the pain without injections or taking pills, and with fewer side effects. The pumps have been around for about 20 years. Newer models are much more durable, and once implanted can last throughout the patient's life.
Patients make monthly visits to have the pump reloaded with pain medication.
It's a quick, painless procedure. The patient, however, has to be proactive and not give up when physicians say there isn't anything that can be done. There are alternatives. Grand Rounds Teleconf. Noon Dept. of Medicine Research Conf.