Effect of intra-abdominal instillation of lidocaine during minor laparoscopic procedures

Abstract Objective To assess the effect of intraperitoneal instillation of lidocaine on postoperative pain after minor gynecological laparoscopic surgery. Method A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 75 patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopy randomized to receive intraperitoneal instillation of either 120 mg of lidocaine (n = 60) or normal saline (n = 15) at the end of surgery. Postoperative pain was evaluated by Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (WBFS) score at 15 minutes and at 1, 2, 4, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Results The WBFS score was lower for the lidocaine group than for the control group at 1, 2, and 4 hours after surgery ( P  = 0.023). There was no difference in WBFS scores between the 2 groups at 15 minutes ( P  = 0.46), 12 hours ( P  = 0.13), and 24 hours ( P  = 0.07) after surgery. Conclusion Intraperitoneal instillation of lidocaine was effective in reducing postoperative pain after minor gynecological laparoscopic procedures.