ROLE OF THE SURGICAL POSITION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTOPERATIVE LOW-BACK-PAIN

The aetiology of postoperative back pain is contentious. Although the role of the surgical position has not been fully established, the lith otomy position is often implicated. In order to investigate this commo n surgical complication further, a prospective study has been performe d on 101 hysterectomy patients. The supine (52 patients) and the litho tomy (49 patients) positions have been compared and contrasted within this series. Ten patients in the supine group (20%) and seven patients in the lithotomy group (14%) developed postoperative low back pain (p > 0. 1). The mean duration of symptoms postoperatively for the whole series was 7 months. We conclude that postoperative backache is an und er-estimated complication of surgery and that this problem occurs equa lly whether the supine or the lithotomy positions are used.