Photo courtesy of: www.prhc.on.ca
Peterborough Regional Health Centre is marking the one-year anniversary of an advanced nerve catheter procedure that has significantly changed recovery for knee surgery patients and helped reduce hospital stays and wait times.
Since its introduction in June 2025, 220 patients have undergone the procedure, which involves an anesthesiologist inserting a small flexible tube under the skin to deliver continuous, targeted pain relief after knee surgery.
The hospital says the technique has allowed many patients to recover at home sooner, with improved comfort and reduced reliance on opioid medications.
“The nerve catheter allows patients to recover in the comfort of their own home and provides better pain control after the operation, because the nerve block lasts several days,” said Dr. Carla Henderson, anesthesiologist at PRHC. “Orthopedic surgeons can now offer same-day surgeries with these catheters, which means that we can do more operations and have shorter wait times for patients.”
PRHC says benefits of the program include shorter hospital stays, with many patients now discharged the same day, faster and more comfortable recovery periods, reduced need for opioid pain management and related complications, and improved surgical throughput.
As a result, the current wait time for knee surgery at PRHC has been reduced to between one and two months.
One patient, Elwyn, who recently underwent a knee replacement, said the experience exceeded expectations.
“I have been telling everybody that if you have this operation, get this catheter,” Elwyn said. “I was expecting pain, I was expecting some sort of symptom from drugs that you take for pain, and because of the catheter, I had none of that.”
PRHC says it is currently the only hospital between Kingston and Durham offering the nerve catheter program for knee surgery patients.
The hospital has also expanded its orthopedic team to eight specialists, a move it says has helped increase surgical capacity and improve access to care.
Officials encourage patients to speak with their physicians about local referral options for orthopedic procedures, noting that having surgery closer to home can reduce travel time, lower costs and keep patients connected to family and community supports during recovery.
