Abstract
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
