Q: What medications will be used?

Depending on the cause of your abdominal pain, Dr. Zhang will tailor the best and safest formulation and dose for every single patient individually. A local anesthetic is usually injected, sometimes in higher volumes, through a small needle. A local anesthetic is a medication that is often used as a numbing agent by blocking pain signals. Sometimes a steroid medication can be added if there are signs of inflammation. A steroid is a medication that can be used to treat many painful conditions by decreasing your body’s inflammatory response.

Q: What is the abdominal wall injection procedure like?

Our staff will help position you for your injection. Depending on the location of your pain and the injection approach, we may have you sitting up, laying down on your back, or even laying down on your side.  We will clean off your skin with some cold soap, which is very important to prevent infection. You will receive some numbing medication that will help prevent pain with the procedure. The doctor will then use ultrasound pictures to guide a needle into place. Once confirmed, your personalized medication formulation will be slowly injected. Sometimes you may feel some pressure with the medication being injected, which is completely normal. We will then monitor you and go over discharge instructions before letting you leave.

Q: Am I allowed to go back to work on the same day?

Yes, we do allow patients to go back to work. However, we do caution against any heavy lifting or vigorous activity. But we do encourage you to try some of the activities that initially bothered you, as this may help with your diagnosis.