The Effect of Intraperitoneal Instillation of Bupivacaine on Postoperative Pain After Surgical Laparoscopy

Pain after surgical laparoscopy is due to various causes, such as : trocar insertion stimulating somatic pain receptors in the skin ,chemical irritation of peritoneal nerves due to abdominal distension by CO2 which is transformed into carbonic acid in nerves, distention secondary to pneumoperitoneum causes mechanical irritation of visceral and parietal nerves of the peritoneum, furthermore the surgical intervention causing injury and inflammation of the tissues, spillage of blood or serous fluid causing more irritation to the visceral and parietal nerves of the peritoneum which leads to visceral dull aching pain referred mainly to the distribution of the nerve dermatomal area.

Unfortunately, pain is the major complaint of the patients, thus making its evaluation a fundamental requisite in the outcome assessment in our practice. Pain intensity, duration and related disability are the aspects that define pain and its effects. For each of these aspects, different assessment tools exist.

Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) consists of a straight line with the endpoints defining extreme limits such as 'no pain at all' and 'pain as bad as it could be' The patient is asked to mark his pain level on the line between the two endpoints.

There are numerous interventions that are associated with reduction in the incidence, severity or both of pain or a reduction in analgesia requirements for women having surgical laparoscopy for gynecological purposes.

Bupivacaine, is a local anesthetic. In nerve blocks, it is injected around the nerve that supplies a certain area, or into the spinal canal's epidural space, bupivacaine binds to the intracellular portion of voltage-gated sodium channels and blocks sodium influx into nerve cells, which prevents depolarization. Without depolarization, no initiation or conduction of a pain signal can occur.

Hence the idea of our study is to instill bupivacaine in a certain concentration in the peritoneal cavity in an attempt to reduce postoperative pain after surgical laparoscopy for gynecological purposes that will inflect certainly on patient's hospital stay and mobility.