Epidural injections, involve the giving of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space; used to cause a loss of sensation (spinal anaesthesia) and/or a loss of pain (analgesia).

Procedure:
*The actual epidural injection part usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes

*The patient changes into a hospital gown (to allow easy access to the spinal area) and lies flat on a table with a small pillow under their stomach (to slightly curve the back). If this position causes pain, the patient is sometimes allowed to sit up or lie on their side in a slightly curled (fetal) position.

*After numbing the area with local anesthetic, a needle is inserted into the skin and directed toward the epidural space. If your doctor wants it done under XRay (fluoroscopy) guidance, this will be done in the XRay Dept.

Side effects:
As with all invasive medical procedures, there are potential risks associated with epidural injections; the most common potential risks and complications are:

*infection of the injection site.

*Post-epidural puncture headache (caused by leakage of spinal fluid from the injection site). Although these usually improve in a few days, occasionally a blood patch may be necessary to alleviate the headache. A blood patch is a simple, quick procedure that involves obtaining a small amount of blood from a patient from an arm vein and immediately injecting it into the epidural space to allow it to clot around the spinal sac and stop the leak.

*Bleeding from the site. Bleeding is a rare complication and is more common for patients with underlying bleeding disorders.

*Nerve damage. While extremely rare, nerve damage can occur from direct trauma from the needle, or from infection or bleeding.

After care:
Tenderness at the needle insertion site can occur for a few hours after the procedure and can be treated by applying an ice pack.

Patients are usually asked to lie flat for the remainder of the day on which they have the epidural injection. Some doctors specify a time frame to lie flat, i.e. 24 hours.

Normal activities may typically be resumed the following day.



I hope this has been helpful.