Abdominal pain after laparoscopy: the value of a gas drain.
In an attempt to reduce pain after laparoscopy, a drain was left for 6 h in the peritoneal cavity through the umbilical incision to take advantage of visceral peristaltic and voluntary muscle movements to expel residual gas. In a randomized study 25 treated patients were compared with 28 controls. Use of the drain was found to approximately halve the frequency of pain throughout the first 2 postoperative days. The severity of pain was also significantly reduced in the first 6 h and after mobilization at home the next day when pain is usually at its worst.
D000005:Abdomen; D004618:Embolism, Air / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011897:Random Allocation; D013396:Suction