Objective:
To compare postoperative pain after laparoscopic hernia repair and conventional open hernia repair.
Design:
Prospective, randomized study.
Setting:
Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Patients:
Sixty-two patients scheduled for elective inguinal hernia repair.
Interventions:
Patients were randomized in the operating room to have a laparoscopic hernia repair (30 patients) or a conventional open hernia repair (32 patients). All operations were performed while the patient was under general anesthesia to avoid anesthesia as a confounding variable.
Measures:
Postoperative pain following laparoscopic hernia repair and open hernia repair were compared using the McGill Pain Score, the McGill Visual Analogue Pain Scale score, and the number of acetaminophen with30-mg codeine sulfate (Tylenol 3) tablets needed for pain during the first and second 24-hour periods postoperatively. All of the patients were interviewed and the postoperative pain was evaluated by a special study nurse (P.M.L.) who was blinded to the repair technique.
Results:
At 24 hours, the patients with laparoscopic hernia repair had 26% less pain by the McGill Pain Score (P=.02) and 31% less pain by the McGill Visual Analogue Scale (P=.006) than those who underwent an open hernia repair. At 48 hours the patients who underwent laparoscopic hernia repair had 28% less pain by the McGill Pain Score (P=.03), 42% less pain by the McGill Visual Analogue Scale (P=.002), and used 42% fewer analgesic tablets (P=.004).
Conclusion:
atients with a laparoscopic hernia repair had significantly less pain postoperatively than those with standard open hernia repairs.Arch Surg. 1997;132:292-295