A study of pain after laparoscopic gastric banding

Background: The introduction of the laparoscopic approach to bariatric surg ery has brought similar advantages as those seen in general surgery. There have been no trials assessing postoperative pain after laparoscopic adjusta ble silicone gastric banding (LASGB), We compared prospectively postoperati ve pain and outcome in LASGB and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), to dete rmine if morbidly obese patients can expect the same benefits from a laparo scopic approach in gastric banding as those which are known for LC in non-o bese and obese patients, Methods: In a prospectively collected database of 80 patients undergoing LA SGB, information including a survey assessing the postoperative pain, the a mount of analgetic drugs used, operative reports, laboratory date, and foll ow-up data was collected, This was compared to an equal number of patients undergoing LC, Postoperatively, all patients received standardized pain med ication of 150 mg tramadol per day, Pain was assessed twice on postoperativ e days 1-3 using a patient questionnaire. Results: Patient characteristics and duration of hospital stay were similar in the two groups. Although there was no significant difference in type an d intensity of pain experienced by the patients in either group, the gastri c banding patients reported less postoperative pain overall than those in t he LC group, Conclusion: The analyzed data show that LASGB offers the same advantages as other laparoscopic operations, in that it induces less pain and enables th e patient to return quickly to normal activity and work, The advantage over the compared LC group may be due to higher patient motivation, but was not statistically significant.