USE OF ANALGESICS - LAPAROSCOPIC VERSUS CONVENTIONAL CHOLECYSTECTOMY

We compared two groups of 50 patients each with symptomatic cholecysto lithiasis treated by either conventional or by laparoscopic cholecyste ctomy with regard to duration of postoperative pain and sort and amoun t of analgetics. Laparoscopic operation time was on an average 115.4 m in (65-180 min), conventionally operated 78.1 min (35-140 min). Eight patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy did not need analgetics at all. The average number of days of postoperative pain was 2.7 days for conventional operation and 1.13 days for laparoscopic cholecystectomy . In this time the conventionally operated patients needed four to fiv e times the amount of analgetics as well morphine analogues as low pot ency analgetics.