New Patient Forms:
Please print and fill out this form before your first visit.
Tips for Your Visit
Day Before Your Procedure:
All procedures are done on an outpatient basis. The procedures are done at the
Hanover Parkway Surgery Center.
7300 Hanover Drive Suite #204
Greenbelt, MD 20770
Diet:
You should refrain from eating or drinking 8 hours prior to your procedure.
Medications:
If you have a prescribed blood pressure medication you can take it with a sip of water.
If you take Aspirin or Plavix, you should stop it one week before the procedure day.
If you take Eliquis, you should stop three days before your procedure.
If you take coumadin, it should be stopped 5 days prior to your procedure day. We also advise you to check with your primary physician before stopping to take your blood thinner medication.
If you are diabetic you will be given special instructions regarding taking your medication.
Ride:
You MUST have someone to drive you after your procedure.
Time:
The procedure could take 30 minutes, recovery could take 30 to 45 minutes after the procedure is done.
You should plan to spend 2 to 2.5 hours at the surgery center on the day of your procedure.
Relief from the Injection:
It depends on the pain condition and the procedure that is being performed as well as the physical condition of the patient. A series of three lumbar selective nerve root injections or lumbar facet rhizotomy could last for a year or longer.
The relief is rarely immediate, it may take from 48 hours up to several weeks until you get relief.
You will have a full consultation and physical exam before or on the day of the procedure. If you have questions they will be answered at that time.
Follow-up will be two weeks after the end of injection or procedure.
If the procedure is not effective in treating your pain condition various medical management options will be offered for you to try. At times the relief may not be complete so a combination of medical and injection management may be necessary.
There are situations that might require surgical consultation. If that is the case, you will be referred to a highly qualified spine surgeon.
What exactly is this pain I'm experiencing?
Pain is a warning system, alerting you that something is wrong your body. Neurons are specialized nerve cells that transmit pain signals are found throughout the skin and others.
Most forms of pain can be divided into two general categories: acute and chronic.
Acute pain is temporary. It can last a few seconds or longer but wanes as healing occurs. Some examples of things that cause acute pain include burns, cuts, and fractures.
Chronic pain, such as that seen in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, ranges from mild to severe and can last a lifetime.
What happens at my first appointment?
During your first visit, you will have a comprehensive medical exam where one of our physicians will sit with you and review your pertinent history.
A detailed and thorough medical exam will be tailored to identify specific musculoskeletal pathologies.
After a thorough exam, we will formulate targeted treatment options and modalities that are targeted to you uniquely.
What kind of doctors work at Pain Management Associates?
Dr. Haddis Hagos and Dr. Brent Earls bring an extensive knowledge base of musculoskeletal anatomy and interventional spinal procedures and fluoroscopic (xray) guided injections. They also have extensive experience using ultrasound for diagnostics and guided peripheral joint and tendon injections.
Our practice has been in continuous operation for more than 25 years, and we have treated tens of thousands of new patients in that time.
What are the procedures like?
Procedures can vary completely in the type that are done but the basic premise is to find the nerve or joint that is painful and guide placement medication upon that region.
This can be done by different modalities, including fluoroscopy, ultrasound, or trigger point type injections. To make the procedure more comfortable, sedation is offered, if needed.