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Study Reveals 72% of Patients Experience Post Operative Nausea and Vomiting

Date Published: 
Wed, 2002-09-25

Patient and Physicians Education Site www.doctorfriedberg.com -- `PK Technique(SM)' Achieves Impressive 0.6% PONV Rate
Wednesday September 25, 5:59 am ET

CORONA DEL MAR, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002-- Barry L. Friedberg, MD, a globally recognized leader in Anesthesia innovation and the father of the PK Technique(SM), is greatly alarmed about a study that revealed soaring rates of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are plaguing the field of Cosmetic Surgery. The study entitled "Pain as a Factor Complicating Recovery and Discharge After Ambulatory Surgery," conducted by D. Janet Pavlin, MD and a respected team of researchers, was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Anesthesia and Analgesia, September 2002.

Says Dr. Friedberg: "I urge patients and physicians to be aware that there are better anesthesia techniques available that offer superior outcomes. Researches found a 72 percent PONV rate in the cosmetic surgery patients studied -- this is simply outrageous and unacceptable."

Adds Friedberg, "It is statistically significant and clinically relevant to act quickly to reduce this rate by adopting other anesthesia techniques, like the PK Technique which has been used for nearly 3,000 patients with only a 0.6 percent PONV rate, no post surgical hospitalizations, or uncontrolled post operative pain noted in more than a decade of experience."

Dr. Friedberg attributes the high PONV rate found in the study to the fact that Anesthesiologists continue to support current, archaic clinical practices, instead of reaching out for newer anesthesia techniques that can ensure better safety for the patient, and better outcomes -- not just for the patient, but for the entire surgical team, and for everyone involved in the healthcare process -- from provider to payor. When a patient endures PONV, they are at risk for more discomfort, opening up sutures, which could result in a repeat hospitalization, surgery, and/or infection. This can result in longer recovery, more time away from productive daily living responsibilities like work and family.

"Americans deserve the highest quality of medical care possible," says US Health Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. Thompson released a statement September 18, 2002 following the passage by the HHS Ways and Means Committee of the Patient Safety Bill, committed to improving patient safety and reducing medical errors. Echoing the sentiment of the nation, the Ways and Means committee is working under a mandate by the President of the United States to improve the quality of care in this country. (www.hhs.gov)

Dr. Friedberg concurs, "Whether patient or physician, we must demand the very best medical outcomes."

About Barry L. Friedberg, MD

For the past decade, Barry L. Friedberg, MD, a Stanford trained, Board Certified Anesthesiologist in Corona del Mar, CA, has practiced exclusively in the subspecialty of office-based cosmetic surgery anesthesia. He is the founder of the Society for Office Anesthesiologists (SOFA), which merged with the Society for Office Based Anesthesia (SOBA), a non-profit, international society dedicated to improving patient safety through education. Dr. Friedberg is the developer of propofol ketamine (PK) technique. Many members of SOBA throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and England are enthusiastically using his PK Technique in their practices. Dr. Friedberg has published five articles in peer reviewed journals on his technique. His original 1993 article has been cited in twelve subsequent peer reviewed journal articles and two textbooks in anesthesia. Dr. Friedberg is a frequent contributor to electronic discussion groups that include the SOBA (www.soba.org), and the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA: www.sambahq.org) websites. He has also lectured in the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Israel.

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