Pain Medicine
William S. Schechter, MS, MD, FAAP
Director, Division of Pain Medicine ProgramThe Pediatric Pain Medicine Program of Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is the first dedicated pediatric pain management center in New York City.
The program provides highly specialized pain treatment and symptom management for children of all ages from birth through adolescence. We provide both inpatient and outpatient diagnosis and treatment of pain.
We care for children with pain caused by a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. Our group consists of a specialized team of physicians and nurses who work in consultation with child life specialists, psychologists, psychiatrists, physical and occupational therapists to provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to pain management.
In addition to relieving pain, we address other distressing symptoms associated with many illnesses and their treatments such as nausea, vomiting, itching, constipation, sleeplessness, anxiety and depression.
The Pain Medicine Program has also been at the forefront of providing non-operating room anesthesia and sedation for frightening examinations or painful procedures, such as:
- MRI
- Fluoroscopy and cardiac catheterization
- Radiosurgery
- Radiation therapy
- Endoscopies, bronchoscopies
- Bone marrow aspiration and biopsies
Our Inpatient Pediatric Pain Medicine Program utilizes state-of-the-art methods such as patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCA), patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), regional nerve blocks and perineural catheters to treat pain.
In addition to medication, we employ non-pharmacologic therapies such as:
- Hypnosis
- Guided imagery
- Focused breathing
- Meditation
- Acupuncture
- Physical therapy techniques and exercise
Non-invasive technologies such as transcutaneous nerve stimulation and invasive neuromodulation, utilizing spinal cord stimulators and implantable infusion pumps are also part of our armamentarium.
We follow a wide variety of patients both in the hospital and as outpatients in our Pediatric Pain Management Center. We care for children with diagnoses such as:
- Cancer
- Sickle cell disease
- HIV/AIDS
- A wide variety of neurological, digestive and autoimmune disorders such as headache and oro-facial pain, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, chronic abdominal pain and arthritis
- Rare genetic and metabolic disorders
Our broad mission is:
- To provide state-of-the-art pain management and symptom control for pediatric patients utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to care, which includes both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic modalities of therapy
- To engage in research to improve our understanding of pain in children and to develop new therapies for the future
- To teach medical and nursing students, housestaff, nurses, senior physicians and surgeons the essential elements of pain and symptom management
- To develop a compassionate and holistic, family-centered approach, for the care of the child with a life-threatening condition
Contact
- Pediatric Pain Management
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Directions
(212) 305-7114
