ENDOSCOPIC SURGERY - A MEANS OF REDUCING POSTOPERATIVE PAIN

An analysis of pain following endoscopic surgery has rarely been perfo rmed. On the basis of our own prospective observational study, laparos copic cholecystectomy has been found to have advantages in terms of th e target criterion ''post-operative pain''. Laparoscopic surgery was f ollowed by an appreciably lower consumption of opioids, while conventi onal cholecystectomy was associated with protracted pain. The laparosc opic surgical technique had no influence on the quality of pain, and i t was not possible to identify predictors of a high level of postopera tive pain. While reports in the literature identify numerous advantage s of laparoscopic surgery, the differences with respect to the target criterion ''postoperative pain '' are less clear than is generally pos tulated. Further laparoscopic techniques have yet to be unequivocally shown to be associated with a reduction in postoperative pain.