Identifying novel acute pain treatments following major surgery

Pioneering pain solutions: Dr. Hance Clarke's dedication to progress.

Air Date: October 24, 2023 | Length: 45:28 | Download the transcript 

 

 

 

 

Share this episode:

Episode Description

In this episode of Behind the Breakthrough, Dr. Hance Clarke, an anesthesiologist and director of pain services at Toronto's University Health Network, discusses the challenges of managing pain after surgery. Dive into the consequences of the lack of a protocol and the scope and scale of addiction in Canada as a result of post-surgery pain.

Dr. Clarke also discusses the need for a balance between patient comfort and preventing addiction, and how his research protocols are used to achieve this balance. The opioid crisis has led to a focus on pain as a part of the process, and how to support patients through the hospital system.

About Dr. Hance Clarke

Dr. Hance Clarke is a staff anesthesiologist and the Director of Pain Services at the Pain Research Unit at the Toronto General Hospital (TGH). He is currently the knowledge Translation Chair for the University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, and in 2016, Dr. Clarke was awarded an Early Career Award from the Canadian Pain Society. He is also a clinician investigator at the Krembil Research Institute.

He has been recognized internationally for his research productivity and improvements to patient care. Of all of his accomplishments, Dr. Clarke is proud of his role as lead in the Toronto General Hospital's development and implementation of the World's 1st Transitional Pain Service - a multidisciplinary program to prevent chronic post-surgical pain.

Dr. Clarke has also played a leading role in educating the Canadian public about pain control, risk factors for chronic opioid use, alternatives to opioids as a pioneering strategy at TGH; misconceptions about opioid use, and the need for further studies on understanding the beneficial and adverse effects of cannabis. He is a public champion of evidence-based solutions for the opioid crisis and a national pain and addictions strategist.

His research interests include identifying novel acute pain treatments following major surgery, identifying the factors involved in the transition of acute post-surgical pain to chronic pain, studying the genetics of acute and chronic pain after surgery, and identifying risk factors associated with continued opioid use and poor health-related quality of life after major surgery as well as the efficacy of hyperbaric medicine. Throughout his career, he has authored over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Dr. Hance Clarke and his father. Dr. Hance Clarke's profound connection to the world of medicine was forged through a deeply personal experience involving his father. It was a workplace injury suffered by Dr. Clarke's father that not only ignited his appreciation for the medical system but also served as the pivotal life-changing moment that guided Hance toward his journey in medicine.