ON Q Pump

layne921

Does anyone have experience with the ON Q Pump after a c-section? ( Also posted on c-section board)

TIA!! 

kris_kelsey

our hospital uses On Q Pumps.  What is your question about them? 

It is a round ball filled with numbing medication that is connected to small tubing inserted under the skin at your incision.  the ball continuously infuses medication to help numb your incision site.  it can last for about 2 days give or take. 

layne921

Honestly just wondering if anyone had used it. This is my third c-section yet I've never heard of it.( I have Googled it and watched a video of a nurse explaining how it works.) I'm wondering if anyone has found the bag for the pump to be a pain in the butt when trying to shower, sleep, carry baby ect. I did see where nurses have commented saying you will still need medication. Is it really worth it? Oh and having to pull the tube from your incision scares me!!

kris_kelsey

yeah, you do definitely need to still take oral medication.  I'm sure some women get annoyed with the bag, but I have never had a patient completely bash it verbally.  Pulling it out is similar to pulling out an IV...not so bad.  I think the most annoying things about it is that it can be leaky (like the medication and blood seep more out of your incision), and I am a bit concerned that you could be more likely to get an infection post-partum.  I haven't seen any statistics on it, but it it just seems like a great way to feed bacteria straight up the outside of the tubing and into your incision.  If I were to have an emergency c section I wouldn't be mad if they used it on me, but I certainly wouldn't ask for it.  I don't like things "touching" me and I would get annoyed with it being cumbersome.

betsykerry1

My hospital used them for a while for joint replacement, podiatry and open abdominal procedures. There is some significant body of evidence that there can be vascular compromise caused by the pain pump causing necrosis of bone and soft tissue so we stopped placing them during surgery (I work in the OR as an RN). We've gone back to regional blocks (for joints and podiatry) and epidurals (for belly cases). The flip side of that is that the ON Q pump works really really well. I don't know if i'd be receptive to having one or not, having seen the evidence of complications. Additionally, I have not actually seen any of the complications in person, just read about them. HTH