Tummy Tuck Innovator Dr. Chris Patronella Introduces Breakthrough Product That’s Transforming Tummy Tuck Recovery into a More Comfortable Experience for Patients

Houston, Texas (PRWEB) September 04, 2012

Houston plastic surgeon Dr. Chris Patronella is pleased to provide his tummy tuck patients with a breakthrough new product to significantly improve the recovery experience. Thanks to the development of the new long-acting anesthetic Exparel®, which is injected directly into the abdominal tissues during the procedure—the area that’s the source of most pain following surgery—Patronella said his tummy tuck patients typically are far more comfortable and able to return sooner to their daily activities following surgery.

“This is something I’ve been looking forward to using ever since I participated in the original research on the product,” said Patronella, who served as a member of the plastic surgery advisory panel for Pacira Pharmaceuticals, the company that developed Exparel. Patronella and his colleagues’ clinical studies to evaluate the medication’s safety were published in the respected Aesthetic Surgery Journal. The drug’s strong safety profile led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve it in October 2011.

“The benefits I’m seeing are even far better than I anticipated,” commented Patronella who noted that Exparel offers several welcome advantages over the pain pump—a widely used pain relief method for abdominoplasty recovery. Not only does Exparel provide longer-lasting pain relief for 72 hours or more, it does so more effectively since it’s injected into the tissues, in contrast to the pump, which infuses medication over the tissues via a thin tube that’s inserted during surgery, said Patronella. This simplified delivery method eliminates the need for patients to tote around the bulky pain pump, an appreciated edge of comfort that can make it easier for them to rest and get around.

“Because they’re feeling more comfortable, patients are more likely to get up and around and participate in their daily activities, “commented Patronella, adding that this speedier return to mobilization typically translates to a faster recovery and a reduction in the likelihood of potential complications such as blood clots and pneumonia. Because of the medication’s effectiveness, most patients require less frequent dosages of the narcotics the surgeon prescribes to aid in pain relief, which equates to fewer side effects such as drowsiness, nausea, and constipation.

A Galveston physician who recently received Exparel during a tummy tuck procedure with Patronella validated these findings, noting that she’d experienced soreness but no pain in the days following her surgery. “The pain I experienced after having a C-section was worse,” said the mother of two, who underwent abdominoplasty to restore a svelte, youthful contour to her abdomen and get rid of the loose, hanging skin left behind by pregnancy and a C-section. “It took me about three to four weeks to feel more back to normal after having a C-section, whereas, I am up and around just five days after undergoing tummy tuck surgery,” said the doctor.

Exparel’s benefits are proving to significantly diminish one of abdominoplasty’s greatest drawbacks—its reputation for being one of the toughest cosmetic surgery procedures from which to recover. Incorporation of the medication into his practice opens up tummy tuck surgery to those women who’ve longed to have their post pregnancy tummy pooches transformed into the sexy, smooth, flat abdomens of their pre-baby days, but they’ve felt daunted by the prospect of a painful recovery, said Patronella, who is considered one of the nation’s foremost tummy tuck specialists and revision surgery experts.

For Patronella, who developed his artistically-detailed signature abdominoplasty method,The True Form Tummy Tuck® to produce abdominoplasty results that better capture the abdomen’s natural beauty while avoiding the procedure’s most common pitfalls—the quest to refine techniques and improve the patient experience is continually evolving.

The surgeon commented, “I’m always interested in developing and implementing advances that improve aesthetic results and help patients through the recovery process, creating a more positive experience for them overall.”

Plastic Surgeon Dr. Chris Patronella, who currently serves as the president of the Houston Society of Plastic Surgeons, is recognized and respected worldwide for the techniques he’s introduced to refine aesthetic plastic surgery and improve its safety. In addition to being named one of the nation’s leading providers of plastic surgery in a Goldline Research study published in Forbes magazine, his physician colleagues have selected him year after year as one of Houston’s top plastic surgeons in polls conducted by H Texas Magazine and Health and Fitness magazine.