Feasibility Study on Pain Control After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2021-04-26
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The objective of the study is to hopefully understand the most beneficial way to control pain after removing the gallbladder by keyhole surgery (laparoscopic cholecystectomy).

The investigators will investigate two groups of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

One group will receive the injection of local anaesthetic into the abdominal wall (TAP block) and into the wounds; the second group will have local anaesthetic into the wounds only.

In order to have meaningful results, we anticipate a large number of participants would be required. Therefore we would test first whether it is technically possible to set up the study itself.

The investigators will be looking at parameters (willingness of patients to be recruited, willingness of clinicians to recruit participants, number of eligible patients, follow-up rates, adherence/compliance rates, number of participants needed for an adequate sample size) that will allow to understand if such a larger trial is technically possible to set up.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
• Treatments: Anesthetics; Bupivacaine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients able/willing to give informed consent for participation in the study.

• Male or female aged 18-60 years old.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients having an open cholecystectomy (performed through the standard "rope" incision).

• Patients intended to have laparoscopic cholecystectomy as an inpatient (staying overnight after surgery).

• Patients initially scheduled to have day case surgery but eventually admitted to hospital due to surgical or anaesthetic concerns or social reasons.

• Patients with contraindications in having injection of the local anaesthetic used in the study (i.e. history of side-effects, allergy).

• Patients who cannot have one or more standard oral painkillers prescribed postoperatively.

• Patients with history of chronic pain who are already on long term painkillers.

• Patients unable/unwilling to give informed consent for participation in the study.