Local anesthesiologist opens pain medicine practice

With the current epidemic of narcotic abuse of both prescription and non-prescription drugs, there has been an increased push for medical professionals to find alternative chronic pain management methods. That’s why anesthesiologist Dr. Dale Sutherland started his own independent practice with a main goal in mind: to control chronic pain without the use of narcotics.

“We know that non-prescription drug abuse like heroin and fentanyl is tied to people who abuse prescription medicines and then can’t get them,” said Sutherland. “The death rate from heroin in Delaware has gone up dramatically. From 2014 to 2015 it increased by almost 12 percent.”

His new pain medicine practice, Interventional Pain Solutions, uses injection therapy as the primary method of pain control. Through injections, local anesthetic and cortisone medications shut down nerve conduction to relieve pain. The injection therapy can be used to help alleviate spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, chronic regional pain syndromes, back and hip arthritis, muscular strain, headache, pain after knee replacements and other forms of chronic pain.

According to Sutherland, chronic pain is defined as any pain that lasts longer than three months. “We know that narcotics are good if you have surgery or short-lived pain for three to four weeks, but after that they really aren’t indicated. We want to manage patient pain using non-narcotic methods if they’re having pain for longer than three months.”

By using procedures to control pain rather than narcotic medications, patients no longer have to worry about the adverse effects of the drugs or the potential abuse factor. It has been shown that using these new methods cuts down on the abuse of prescription and non-prescription medications.

“What we want to do is get people to a point where pain no longer has a negative effect on their life,” said Sutherland. “We want to give them back their lives without using narcotics.”

Sutherland had been practicing anesthesia at Beebe Healthcare since 2007. In 2011, he began focusing more on interventional pain procedures. With over 1,300 procedures performed last year, he realized how important and necessary this type of pain management was.

“Next thing I knew patients were waiting six to eight weeks to see me. That’s when I realized this was big enough that I needed to do it full time,” said Sutherland. “I’ve just recently gone out on my own because there’s such a need for this.”

His new practice follows a multimodal approach, taking into the account the psychological aspect of pain in addition to the physical aspect. In addition to injection therapy, Sutherland’s practice includes alternative therapy to try to control the pain. “We sit and we spend a lot of time with the patient listening and talking,” said Sutherland. “We find out why they have their pain, how it affects their life, and what their goals are.” Alternative therapies like acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, massage and other healing exercises are often used.

Sutherland is not the only local practitioner who has ventured into this type of pain management. Dr. William L. Pfaff III in Lewes, Dr. Manonmani Antony in Georgetown and Dr. Mohammad Medhi in Lewes are using similar techniques to control pain. Dr. Jose Pando in Lewes is also using alternative therapies and has integrated yoga into his practice. “We’re beginning to see a lot more of this kind of treatment,” said Sutherland.  

As an independent practice, Sutherland’s Interventional Pain Solutions operates cooperatively with the Beebe Outpatient Surgery Center. Sutherland conducts his procedures out of the surgery center, receiving help from its nurses and x-ray technicians. “The staff at this surgery center is unbelievably great with patients,” said Sutherland. “They know patients on a first-name basis.”

Sutherland’s practice is based on a collaborative effort between himself and other medical practitioners. “We work in conjunction with the back surgeons, the family practice doctors, the rheumatologists, the chiropractors, the physical therapists, and so on and so forth to take care of the patient as a whole,” said Sutherland. He also strives to maximize the patient’s time away from doctors by avoiding the unnecessary hassle of multiple appointments. “There are too many retirees who tell me their social lives revolve around doctor’s appointments,” said Sutherland. 

Overall, Sutherland aims to provide everyone he cares for a positive experience. “My goal is to take care of patients, get them back to the things they want to do, give them their quality of life and do it without having to use narcotics,” he said.

To see Dr. Sutherland regarding chronic pain, talk to your family doctor and fax a referral to 302-439-1180.