title: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for pain relief after liposuction: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liposuction is a common cosmetic surgical procedure, which requires analgesia for postoperative pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been used for postoperative pain relief; however, there is no evidence of its effectiveness in liposuction patients and this is the focus of this paper.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was conducted with 42 adult patients who underwent liposuction. Patients were randomly allocated to either the TENS group (active TENS) or control group (sham TENS). All patients received morphine (0.1 mg/kg) and dipyrone 1 g immediately after surgery; TENS was delivered 2 h later. The primary outcome was pain intensity. Secondary outcomes were analgesic requirement, number and types of adverse effects of TENS, quality of pain, treatment success, and patient satisfaction. Postoperative pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Brazilian version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (Br-MPQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients in the TENS group reported significantly lower pain intensity (P < 0.001, effect size = 0.92) compared with those in the control group. TENS significantly decreased the consumption of analgesics in the postoperative period (P < 0.001). No withdrawals or adverse effects were observed in the TENS group, but 33.3% of patients in the control group reported drowsiness and nausea. About 95 and 38% of patients in the TENS and control groups, respectively, were satisfied with the analgesic treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that TENS is effective as an adjunct to analgesics for pain relief after liposuction.
  
  
  METHODS
  This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.
authors: Graduate Program in Translational Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Napoleão de Barros 715, 4o. andar, CEP 04024-002, São Paulo, Brazil, milla.fisiocm@gmail.com.
authors: Milla Pompilio
authors: MP
authors: da Silva
authors: Richard Eloin
authors: RE
authors: Liebano
authors: Victor Ales
authors: VA
authors: Rodrigues
authors: Luiz Eduardo Felipe
authors: LE
authors: Abla
authors: Lydia Masako
authors: LM
authors: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015187:Lipectomy; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult