To her surprise, the 75-year-old woman emerged with little feeling in her left leg, thanks to medicine delivered through a catheter. The Orthopaedic Center, which opened last fall in the University of Utah's Research Park, is the first surgery facility in Utah and one of the first in the country to provide the in-dwelling catheters after orthopedic surgery.

"I don't like pain pills, so I'm glad I had" the option of a catheter, Moutsos said. "Pain pills affect your whole body and your brain. I'm having the other knee done in a couple of months, so now I know what to expect."

Doctors send patients home with the catheters, which feed a constant supply of medication the first 48 hours after an operation.

"Orthopedic surgery no longer has to hurt so much," said Jeffrey Swenson, associate professor of anesthesiology at the U. School of Medicine and chief of anesthesiology at the Orthopaedic Center. "The pain control with these catheters is outstanding."

To insert the catheters, anesthesiologists use a technique developed at the University of Utah that avoids actual contact with the nerve by using ultrasound. The catheters contain Bupivacaine, an analgesic that deadens the nerve and controls pain.

Every Orthopaedic Center patient who undergoes surgery for knee replacement, torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), or on a shoulder, ankle or foot goes home with a catheter. More than 300 patients have received one, said Swenson, who recently had knee surgery and tested the catheter.

The catheters cut down on medical expenses because patients who otherwise would have to remain in the hospital are going home earlier, shortening stays and reducing costs, Swenson said.

Patients can remove the catheters on their own.

"I tried the Oxycontin and the Lortab because I wanted to be able to try both ways," Swenson said. "The side-effects of taking narcotics are leaps and bounds worse. You can get nausea, constipation, itching and severe respiratory depression."

Robert Michel underwent ACL construction on his left knee recently. Thirteen years ago, he had ACL surgery on his right knee and was given Percocet and morphine for severe pain. He needed so much of both that it made him sick and he decided to bear the pain rather than endure the side effects.

"This is orders of magnitude better than my experience 13 years ago," he said. "You'd be crazy not to get this in the future if it's offered to you."

chamilton@sltrib.com