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Welcome, If you live with chronic pain, Saint Luke’s Hospital’s Pain Management Center is here to help. Our entire staff is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of your pain. We strive to make every visit to the Pain Management Center a positive and successful experience for you.
 Pain Conditions We Treat:
- Back Pain
- Cancer-related Pain
- Neck and Shoulder Pain
- Headaches
- Abdominal and Pelvic Pain
- Muscle and Arthritic Pain
- Rib Fracture
- Post Herpetic Neuralgia (Shingles)
- Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Trigeminal Neuralgia (Facial Pain)
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Sympathtic Dystrophy)
- Spinal Cord Injury Pain
- Diabetic Neuropathy (Nerve Pain)
- Work Related Injuries (Worker’s Compensation)
- Phantom Limb Pain
 Treatments:
- Epidural Injections
- Therapeutic Nerve Root Blocks
- Facet/Median Branch Blocks
- Radiofrequency Ablation
- Neurolytic Blocks
- Trigger Point Injections
- BOTOX Injections
- Physical Therapy/TENS
- Pain Psychology Methods
- Epidural Blood Patch
- Selective Nerve Root Injections
- Intrathecal Pain Pump Trials
- Spinal Cord Stimulator Trials
- Discography
- Medication Management
- Acupuncture
Our Staff
Susan Opper, M.D., Medical Director, Saint Luke’s Hospital, Pain Management Center, is a graduate of Memphis State University and the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Opper received her anesthesiology training at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City where she completed a fellowship in cardiac anesthesia and pain management. With more than 15 years of experience in pain management, she is a diplomat of the American Board of Anesthesiology with a subspecialty certification in pain management by the ABA. Dr. Opper is an assistant professor at the UMKC School of Medicine. She is a member of the American Pain Society, International Association of The Study of Pain, International Spine Injection Society, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine.
Jennifer Elliott, M.D., is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. Dr. Elliott received her anesthesia training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass., where she also completed a fellowship in pain management. She is certified in Anesthesiology and subspecialty certified in Pain Management by the American Board of Anesthesiology. She is also certified in medical acupuncture. Dr. Elliott is an assistant professor at UMKC School of Medicine. She has authored chapters in several textbooks on pain management and is the primary editor of a fourth coming pain management handbook.
Sonali Agarwal, M.D., attended the University of California-Berkeley, and is a graduate of Saba University School of Medicine. Dr. Agarwal received her anesthesiology training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City at Saint Luke’s Hospital. She completed a pain management fellowship at the Quad-Institutional Cornell Medical Center program in New York City. Her subspecialty included training at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery, Columbia Medical Center, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. Dr. Agarwal is board certified in Anesthesiology and is an assistant professor at UMKC School of Medicine.
Our Philosophy
Our mission is to provide comprehensive assessment and treatment for patients with acute, severe, and chronic pain syndromes. We believe in consistency of care. Each patient sees the same provider over time. We use an interdisciplinary team approach to pain management, involving experts from various health care specialties, to develop highly individualized treatment plans for each patient.
Our interdisciplinary team consists of three physicians certified in pain management and a clinical nurse specialist. All full-time providers have additional training in pain management and devote all their time to the specialty. Other members of our team include specialty trained pain management staff nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, and office staff.
Our Office
Patients are seen in the Pain Management Center after referral from their primary care or specialist physician. Medication management patients are generally accepted with the understanding that when the patient is stabilized on a regimen, the patient returns to the primary care physician for continued care. Please contact your referring physician’s office to facilitate making the appointment. They can fax the required information to (816) 932-5491.
Should I Drive to My Appointment?
You will be advised of the need for a driver if you are to receive an injection. Your initial visit to the Pain Management Center will last approximately two hours. The diagnosis and treatment process requires approximately four visits for most patients.
Can I Return to Work After My Visit?
If you receive an epidural injection, we usually recommend you take it easy and let your body be your guide. Depending on your occupation, you sometimes can return to work after the appropriate recovery time.
Prescription Refills
Please call our office at (816) 932-2932 or (800) 227-4104 between 8 a.m. and 3:30, Monday through Friday. Requests for refills and all other calls made after 3:30 p.m. or on weekends will be addressed the next business day.
Questions
When you call our office with questions about your care, please ask to speak to a nurse. If your questions cannot be readily answered, the nurse will consult with a pain management provider and return your call as soon as possible.
In the event of an emergency, please dial 911 or go directly to the nearest emergency room and ask them to contact your primary physician.
For more information about Saint Luke’s Hospital’s Pain Management Center, please call us at (816) 932-2932 or toll-free (800) 227-4104, or call NurseLine at (816) 932-6220.
Financial/Billing Services
We realize hospital bills can be complex and sometimes confusing. If you have questions about billing and insurance coverage regarding your visit to Saint Luke’s Hospital’s Pain Management Center, please call our billing office, Physician Billing Services, at (816) 932-7940 and Account Service Unit (816) 932-5678 prior to your appointment.
Saint Luke’s Hospital’s Pain Management Center is located in the Ambulatory Surgery building at 215 West 43rd Street, Kansas City, MO 64111, on the north end of the Saint Luke’s Hospital.
Click here for directions
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