Advanced Spine & Pain Clinics of Minnesota Implants State-of-the-Art Drug Infusion Pump for Pain Treatment

EDINA, Minn., Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowonix Medical announced today the first implant of the Prometra^® programmable infusion pump in Edina, Minnesota.  Dr. Matthew G. Thorson implanted the pump in a 48 year old male who has been suffering from chronic pain for over 10 years. The surgery was performed at Centennial Lakes Surgery Center. The pump was implanted in the patient's abdomen around the belt line and a thin catheter was attached to the pump and then fixated in the intrathecal area of the patient's lower spine. The pump then automatically delivers tiny amounts of pain medication directly to the patient's spinal cord region. The Prometra® pump offers unprecedented dosing accuracy and reliability.

"I was very pleased to be the first implanter of the new Prometra intrathecal drug pump in the Twin Cities area, a part of the country well known for medical innovation," said Matthew G. Thorson, MD who performed the surgery. "I believe intrathecal drug delivery offers patients suffering from uncontrolled pain or side effects associated with oral pain relievers an important alternative. What's more, this new technology offers economic benefits as well and may serve to reduce costs associated with long-term pain management."

It is estimated that 116 million people in the US suffer from chronic pain, which in many cases is not adequately controlled with pain medications, including oral narcotic agents.  Untreated or undertreated chronic pain can lead to disability, depression, and reduced quality of life. Intrathecal pain therapy offers another approach when oral medications are not effective in controlling pain or are not well tolerated by the patient.  Studies have indicated that intrathecal pain therapy improves quality of life and cost of care.

Intrathecal drug pumps are small, self-contained, battery-powered devices aimed at providing safe, dependable, automatic dosing of drugs directly to the spinal area. The Prometra® pump offers the most accurate dosing of any device of its kind. Additionally, the Prometra^® pump has the longest-lasting battery life of any programmable pump.

"Implantable pump longevity is a very important factor to consider when selecting a drug pump," stated Steven Adler, CEO of Flowonix Medical. "When we designed the Prometra pump, emphasis was placed on efficient design to maximize the device's service life. The longer the device lasts, the longer the duration between implant procedures. This may result in less risk to patient and lower costs to the healthcare system."

The Advanced Spine & Pain Clinics of Minnesota provides an integrated approach to the growing and complex problem of treating moderate-to-severe chronic pain. Their board-certified physicians and clinical staff provide state-of-the-art treatments, procedures, and other treatment modalities to treat some of the most pervasive and challenging chronic pain conditions. Advanced Spine & Pain Clinics incorporated the Prometra pump into its program to help manage moderate-to-severe pain in selected patients.

About Matthew G Thorson, MD
Matthew G. Thorson, MD is a graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. After a Transitional Year Residency at the University of North Dakota/Meritcare, he completed his residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Florida/Shands Hospital. He completed his Pain Medicine fellowship at the University of Iowa. Dr. Thorson is board certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine by the American Board of Anesthesiology. He is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiology, the American Society for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the Minnesota Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the International Spine Intervention Society and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

For more information about Dr. Matthew G Thorson, please visit http://www.tcpaindoctor.com.

About Flowonix Medical
Flowonix Medical (www.flowonix.com), headquartered in Mt. Olive, NJ, is dedicated to working with healthcare professionals to help ease suffering associated with chronic pain and allow patients to reclaim their lives through innovation and therapy advancements. The strategic business goal of Flowonix Medical is to become the leading implantable drug delivery company in the world.  Founded in 2005, Flowonix Medical received approval to conduct its first clinical trial in 2007 on the Prometra programmable implantable pump. The company received approval by the FDA to market the Prometra in 2012. Flowonix Medical has been granted multiple patents, and is focused on working closely with physicians to rapidly improve the capabilities of implantable drug delivery and management systems.

For more information, please visit http://www.flowonix.com.

SOURCE Flowonix Medical Incorporated