Gynaecology patients offered new pain relief option for invasive procedures | Cancer Centre News

A collaboration between our Gynaecology Outpatients and Anaesthetic teams has introduced the use of an easy to use, self-administered painkiller for patients receiving invasive procedures, such as cervical biopsies.

Penthrox® is an inhaler traditionally used in emergency departments (ED) for trauma patients such as those admitted with a broken leg.

Use of the inhaler was initially extended at Royal Surrey to help cervical cancer patients receiving brachytherapy treatment and then to those having a biopsy as part of their prostate cancer screening.

It has now been offered to gynaecology patients, thanks to the initiative of Consultant Anaesthetist and Clinical Director for Anaesthetics, Ben Morrison, and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Osama Abughazza.

Emily Salmons, 26, used Penthrox® during a procedure called a colposcopy after a smear test showed abnormal results.

She said: “I came in to have the colposcopy but it was so painful that I couldn’t cope and I had to ask the clinician to stop the procedure. I was offered the alternative of having a general anaesthetic at a later date, but I not very keen on that and quite scared by the thought of it, so I was given the Penthrox® to use instead.

“It looks like a big green marker pen and it’s incredibly easy to use, you just take a few breaths and inhale the substance in the gadget. I found that it immediately stopped all the pain and was effective for the rest of my 30 minutes’ procedure. I’ve told all my friends about how effective it was and how simple to use and I’m so grateful for being given this option.”

Ben praised the team effort that has made the use of Penthrox® possible in another area of the Trust.

He said: “It takes quite a lot of work to make Penthrox® available to patients in different departments. It is unlicensed for use outside of ED, so each time we’ve extended the use, we’ve had to put forward a case and go through the necessary governance process to make sure it’s approved and safe to use.

“There’s no doubt that it is beneficial for patients as it gives them control over their level of pain relief. It also helps reduce our waiting lists for those patients who need general anaesthesia in our main Theatres for their procedure. We’re very keen to think of more ways to use this for other patients within the Trust.”

The Gynaecology Outpatients team has been using Penthrox® for patients for the last three months and has found that patient feedback is very positive.

Consultant Osama said: “Since introducing this way of providing anaesthetic medication for our patients, we’ve found that is has helped significantly where procedures are found to be painful for them.

“There are several advantages to using it, for example, it gives patients a chance to complete their diagnostic or treatment procedure without any delay, it saves the patients from having to rebook for a later appointment and means they don’t have to undergo a general anaesthetic. It’s a simple but brilliant solution.”