Study Demonstrating Efficacy of ON-Q Post-Surgical Pain Relief Treatment Following Foot and Ankle Surgery Published in Prestigious Anesthesiology Journal Clinical Study Found ON-Q Facilitated a Less Painful Recovery and Earlier Discharge Home

LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 23, 2003-- I-Flow Corporation (NASDAQ: IFLO) today announced that a study of post-surgical pain relief following major podiatric surgery was published in the November 2003 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia. The study, conducted by Paul F. White, Ph.D., M.D., Professor and Holder of the Margaret Milam McDermott Distinguished Chair in Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, highlighted the benefits of using the ON-Q(R) Post-Operative Pain Relief System, a continuous non-narcotic pain relief device, for foot and ankle surgery. The findings showed that ON-Q patients had a 70 percent decrease in narcotic use, a 67 percent reduction in pain after surgery and a 65 percent reduction in length of hospital stay.

"Commonly used pain therapies tend to wear off quickly after surgery, forcing patients to take more oral narcotic-containing medication to alleviate their pain," said Dr. White. "Using ON-Q's continuous infusion device significantly improved patients' satisfaction with pain relief. Because of the reduced level of pain and decreased need for narcotic medication, the patients recovered faster, and thus were able to leave the hospital sooner."

The study, titled "Use of a Continuous Popliteal Sciatic Nerve Block for the Management of Pain After Major Podiatric Surgery: Does it Facilitate Recovery?" was originally presented at the 2002 American Society of Anesthesiologists conference held in Orlando. The randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study involved 20 patients who underwent foot and ankle surgery. In this study, 50 percent of the patients received post-surgical pain relief with ON-Q, yet all of the patients had the option of receiving narcotics, the current standard of care. The ON-Q patients actually required less than half the amount of narcotics and many did not even require the use of patient-controlled analgesia with morphine. Importantly, no wound infections were observed.

"We were thrilled with the findings of Professor White's study. To the hundreds of thousands of patients who have foot and ankle surgery each year, it is now proven that ON-Q can be invaluable in getting them back to their normal lives faster," said Don Earhart, president and CEO of I-Flow Corporation. "I-Flow takes pride in continuing to increase the pool of clinical data supporting the compelling benefits of ON-Q following foot and ankle procedures as well as other surgeries."

About ON-Q

The ON-Q(R) Post-Operative Pain Relief System provides targeted pain relief after surgery only where the body needs it, delivering a non-narcotic numbing medication directly to an incision site. ON-Q consists of a small, high-tech balloon pump that delivers local anesthetic, a pain-numbing medication, directly to the surgical site for up to five days. The anesthetic is administered through a tiny specially-designed tube (catheter) that's inserted by a surgeon during surgery. ON-Q is cleared for use by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

ON-Q can deliver narcotic-free pain relief for many surgeries, including: cesarean sections, hysterectomies, knee replacements, mastectomies, cardio-vascular/thoracic, foot and ankle surgeries and many cosmetic surgeries. A growing body of clinical information is becoming available for ON-Q for many different surgeries. For more information about ON-Q, visit www.AskYourSurgeon.com or call 800-448-3569.

About I-Flow Corporation

I-Flow Corporation (www.iflo.com) designs, develops and markets technically advanced drug delivery systems that are redefining the standard of care by providing life enhancing, cost effective solutions for pain relief.

Certain disclosures made by the Company in this press release and in other reports and statements released by the Company are and will be forward-looking in nature, such as comments that express the Company's opinions about trends and factors that may impact future operating results. Disclosures that use words such as the Company "believes," "anticipates," or "expects" or use similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those expected, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to republish revised forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by the Company in this release which seek to advise interested parties of the risks and other factors that affect the Company's business, as well as in the Company's periodic reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks affecting the Company's business include reliance on the success of the home health care industry, the Company's success in pursuing its direct sales strategy, the reimbursement system currently in place and future changes to that system, competition in the industry, economic and political conditions in foreign countries, currency exchange rates, inadequacy of booked reserves, technological changes and product availability. Any such forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or elsewhere, should be considered in context with the various disclosures made by the Company about its business.

CONTACT: Schwartz Communications
Wendy Williams or Amy Kramer, 781-684-0770
i-flow@schwartz-pr.com
or
I-Flow Corporation
Orlando Rodrigues, 949-206-2619
orlando.rodrigues@i-flowcorp.com

SOURCE: I-Flow Corporation