Hagerstown, Md.-based Cumberland Valley Surgery Center completed its first total knee replacement without using opioids, the Herald-Mail reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. The surgery center staff began planning for the procedure in November 2017. They performed it successfully at the end of April.
2. To facilitate pain management, the surgeons implanted a pump into the top of the patient's knee, which released a numbing medicine for three days after the procedure.
3. To date, the patient has only taken Tylenol to ease any remaining pain.
4. The surgery center is hoping the method could be applied to shoulder and hip surgeries.