UT Health San Antonio is pioneering the use of suzetrigine, a non-opioid painkiller, for post-surgical care. The medication provides strong pain control without the harmful effects of narcotics.
UT Health San Antonio’s Multispecialty and Research Hospital has become the first in Texas to authorize the use of a newly approved non-opioid drug for managing pain after orthopaedic and podiatric surgeries.
This decision reflects the hospital’s “multimodal” approach to pain management, which combines non-opioid medications with physical therapy. The hospital, which opened on December 10, was designed to provide advanced surgical care, state-of-the-art imaging, and comprehensive cancer treatment.
The medication, suzetrigine (marketed as Journavx), is not classified as a controlled substance and avoids the side effects commonly associated with opioids. It received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January and became available for use in April.
According to the manufacturer, UT Health San Antonio is the first facility in the state to add suzetrigine to its inpatient formulary as a first-line option for post-surgical pain management, specifically for patients undergoing orthopaedic and podiatric procedures.
Reducing reliance on narcotics
“At UT Health San Antonio, we are committed to newer strategies to minimize and even eliminate narcotic pain medication after surgery,” said Christopher D. Chaput, MD, vice chief of staff and chair of orthopaedic surgery at the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital. “Narcotics, in addition to the risk of addiction, have a range of other negative side effects after surgery including sedation, mental status change, and constipation. Instead, we use local and regional nerve blocks, as well as newer non-narcotic medications to reduce the need for opiate based medications.
“Nursing and physical therapists can also help with pain control techniques and early mobilization, which has been shown to improve outcomes and lessen pain,” he said. “At the new Multispecialty and Research Hospital, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, nurses, and surgeons are all working towards this same goal for our postoperative patients.”
Targeting post-surgical pain
The type of post-surgical pain associated with orthopaedics is the target indication for the newly approved medication, said Lee C. Rogers, DPM, clinical associate professor of orthopaedics and chief of podiatry at UT Health San Antonio.
“It could be spine, or a total joint or a bunion,” Rogers said. “This is a way to use innovative and effective pain management approaches that avoid opioids and their side effects.”
How the drug works
A national study of suzetrigine actually was done with bunion surgery, which is a common pain model for research. Rather than targeting the central nervous system of the brain and spinal cord, like opioids do, the new drug targets the peripheral nervous system, or the network of nerves that connects the central nervous system with the rest of the body.
It is comparable to hydromorphone, a potent opioid medication for moderate to severe post-operative pain, only without the narcotic side effects of addiction, tolerance, drowsiness, and other issues.
“This is a significant milestone for UT Health San Antonio,” said Jeff Flowers, chief executive officer of the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital. “Offering this new non-opioid option for post-surgical pain reflects our continued commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care. By integrating the latest advances into our pain management strategy, we’re improving recovery for our patients while also reducing reliance on opioids across South Texas.”
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