Cleveland Clinic Pain Management Center at Fairview Hospital
18099 Lorain Avenue, Suite 404
216.476.7331

 

Emad Daoud, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Daoud's special interests include: abdominal and pelvic pain, abdominal pain, abdominal pain and spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain, anesthesia for orthopedic surgery, back, back neuropathic, back pain, back/neck pain, cancer pain, CRP, complex regional pain syndrome, evaluation of back and neck pain, interventional pain management, interventional pain management for back and neck pain, low back pain, management of chronic pain, neck pain, neuromodulation, neuropathic, neuropathic pain, pain, pain management, pain management including spine, pelvic pain, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, spinal cord stimulation, spine, spine pain, acute lung injury.

George Girgis, D.O.

Dr. Girgis's special interests include: acute and chronic pain, back, back neuropathic, back pain, back/neck pain, cancer pain, complex regional pain syndrome, CRP, evaluation of back and neck pain, interventional pain management, interventional pain management for back and neck pain, low back pain, management of chronic pain, neck pain, neuromodulation, neuropathic, neuropathic pain, pain, pain management, pain management including spine, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, spinal cord stimulation, spine, spine pain.

Fady Nageeb, M.D.

Appointments Lakewood Hospital: 216.529.7246

Dr. Nageeb's special interest include: back pain, postherpetic neuralgia, radicular pain, abdominal pain, postoperative pain, abdominal pain, back, back/neck pain, evaluation of back and neck pain, interventional pain management, interventional pain management for back and neck pain, low back pain, management of chronic pain, neuropathic, neuropathic pain, pain, pain management, pain management including spine, pelvic pain, spine, spine pain.

Hong Shen, M.D.

Dr. Shen’s special interest include: acupuncture, back, Back Pain, back/neck pain, evaluation of back and neck pain, interventional pain management, interventional pain management for back and neck pain, Low Back Pain, management of chronic pain, Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, neuropathic, neuropathic pain, nonsurgical orthopedics, pain, pain management, pain management including spine, rehabilitation, spine, spine pain.


What is Pain Management?
For thousands of years, doctors have been helping to relieve their patients’ pain with a variety of medications and treatments. Like other areas of medicine, a new subset of doctors has become specialists in treating pain. They are focused on managing all types of pain – studying what causes it, how the body reacts to it, how different medications dull or eliminate the pain, and how other treatments can be used to relieve many painful conditions.

Doctors who manage pain are frequently anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists are doctors of medicine (M.D.) or osteopathy (D.O.) who make sure that you are safe, pain-free and comfortable during and following surgery. They also provide their services in other areas of the hospital – especially in the labor and delivery area – or in doctors’ offices where painful medical tests of procedures are performed.

But not everyone realizes that decades of research and work done by anesthesiologists have led to the development of newer, more effective treatments for patients who have pain unrelated to surgery. Many techniques used to make surgery and childbirth virtually painless are now being used to relieve other types of pain. In fact, the work pioneered by anesthesiologists that led to these new medications and treatments also has created a new category of medicine called pain medicine.

Frequently the anesthesiologist heads a team of other specialists and doctors who work together to help you manage your pain. The anesthesiologist or other pain medicine doctors (such as neurologist, oncologists, orthopedists, physiatrists and psychiatrists) and non-physician specialists (such as nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical or rehabilitation therapists and psychologists) all work together to evaluate your condition. Then this “team” of specialists will develop a treatment plan designed just for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of training does a pain management doctor have?
Like other physicians, anesthesiologists earned a college degree and then completed four years of medical school. They sent four more years learning the medical specialty of anesthesiology and pain medicine during residency training. Many anesthesiologists who specialize in pain medicine receive an additional year of fellowship training to become a “sub-specialist,” or an expert in treating pain. Some also have done research, and many have special certification in pain medicine through the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). The ABA is the only organization recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties to offer special credentials in pain medicine.

When do I need to see a pain medicine doctor?
People develop pain for many reasons. Pain from a recent surgery, injury or medical illness is called acute pain. In many cases, this pain can be managed immediately and will usually get better in just a short time. For more serious pain, however, you primary care doctor may ask a pain medicine doctor to help manage your pain while you are healing. If your pain persists after the healing process should be over, you might have what is called chronic pain. If the current treatment you are receiving stops working, or if your pain begins to get worse over time, your primary care doctor may suggest that you see a pain medicine doctor.

Cancer pain is another condition that can be managed by a pain medicine doctor while the patient continues to receive treatment for various types of cancer. The pain can be due to caner surgery or treatment procedures, including radiation therapy and chemotherapy, or the tumor itself.

What does a pain medicine doctor do and can they find out why I hurt?
Pain medicine doctors are experts at diagnosing why you are having pain as well as treating the pain itself. Some of the more common pain problems they manage include: arthritis, back and neck pain, cancer pain, nerve pain, migraine headaches, shingles, phantom limb pain, for amputees, and pain caused by AIDS.

They also manage acute pain caused by surgery, a debilitating illness, or a serious injury. Examples include: pain after a knee-joint replacement, pain during recovery from a car accident, pain following stomach or chest surgery, or pain associated with sickle cell disease. You may be treated in the hospital or in an outpatient clinic.

The pain medicine doctor will work closely with your primary care doctor.

Pain medicine doctors will review your medical records an X-rays as needed.

They will ask you to describe your pain in detail, such as where it hurts, for how long, what makes the pain worse, or what makes it feel better.

They may ask you to fill out a detailed questionnaire that helps them to assess the impact that your pain is having on your lifestyle and if it is interfering with your daily activities.

They also will do a complete physical examination on you.

They may need to order other tests and will then review all of their findings to determine what is causing your pain and how the problem can be corrected.