Pain Control

If you are due to have surgery, you should ask your anaesthetist about pain control on the day of your operation. The clinic performs operations under both regional and general anaesthesia (GA). When a regional anaesthetic is used, the patient is awake (although may be sedated) throughout the operation, but the 'surgical field' (eg part of the foot) is numbed. With a GA, the patient is unconscious throughout. Many operations are not possible without a GA, and your surgeon will also be to discuss this with you.

The clinic also uses the latest pain control techniques, including regional anaesthetic nerve blocks like the 'ankle block' or 'popliteal nerve block', which can supplement your GA. With these blocks, it is possible to have a completely painless operation, and to only require mild analgesics like Paracetamol even after quite major surgery. Although the success rate of these blocks is high in the hands of our skilled anaesthetists, it is not failsafe. During your stay in hospital you will be given anything required to ensure you are comfortable throughout, and will be discharged back home with advice about pain control, and tablets if required.

Occasionally chronic foot pain can occur following crush injuries, nerve injuries, other trauma or even surgery, with an overall incidence of between 5-10%. It can be difficult to treat, but depending on the cause can be rectified with either repair of the nerves or with chronic pain management techniques. Our surgeons both work closely with specialist local Chronic Pain Consultants, who provide an excellent service to patients with this disabling complication.

Anaesthetists and Chronic Pain experts allied to the clinic are:

Dr Pushkar Dadarkar, Consultant Anaesthetist

Dr Pushkar Dadarkar MBBS MRCP(UK) FRCA is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Wexham Park and Heatherwood Hospitals. He grew up in Hayes Middlesex, qualified in Medicine at St George’s  Hospital London and trained in Anaesthesia at University College Hospital London. His medical background also includes experience in Accident and Emergency, Geriatrics, Cardiology and Renal Medicine during which time he passed the diploma for Membership of the Royal College of Physicians.

Following completion of specialist training in anaesthesia Dr Dadarkar spent two years in the USA as Research Fellow, first at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and  then Parkland Hospital in Dallas. His research interests have ranged from laboratory based aspects of regional anaesthesia to participation in clinical trials leading to presentation of papers at international meetings. He regularly attends conferences to keep updated and is a member of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia.

Dr Dadarkar draws upon his broad experience to help achieve his aim of  providing a safe and comfortable experience for his patients, using the latest techniques in regional and general anaesthesi a.

Dr Emmanuel Umerah, Consultant Anaesthetist

Dr Andrew Levison, Consultant Anaesthetist (BUPA No: 03129669)

Dr Andrew Levison MB BS FRCA is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Wexham Park and Heatherwood Hospitals. He qualified at the Royal Free Hospital in London and did most of his anaesthetic  training in and around London. In addition he worked as an Acting Assistant Professor of Anaesthesiology  at the University of Washington in Seattle in the USA.

Dr Levison anaesthetises for a wide range of surgical procedures but a significant part of his practice is  foot and ankle surgery. His philosophy is to ensure that post operative pain relief is afforded the highest priority especially for foot and ankle surgery. This is achieved by a combination of regional anaesthesia with or without a general anaesthetic and a mixture of various  pain killing medications.

Dr Levison has a particular interest in the role of  human factors in medicine and reducing  human error and lectures regularly on this topic. In addition he is involved in training junior anaesthetists and is an instructor on advanced life support courses.

Dr Ranaganathan Iyer, Consultant Anaesthetist and Chronic Pain Specialist (GMC No 3046478)

Dr Ranganathan Iyer BSc MBBS FFARCS is a consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine. He is a substantive consultant in the NHS at Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He obtained his MBBS from the Armed Forces Medical College in Poona (India) and did his post graduate specialisation in anaesthesia and pain medicine in Birmingham, London and Oxford.
 
He has had wide experience of his specialty in almost all corners of the world.He has made several presentations in the treatment of chronic pain conditions both nationally and internationally. His main area of interest is the management of post-surgery pain syndromes, musculo-skeletal pain and the use of neuro-modulation in managing pain.
 
He can be contacted for private appointments via his secretary, Mrs M Kidd on 01753 665440

Dr Pradeep Desai, Consultant Anaesthetist and Chronic Pain Specialist