Preoperative Analgesia by Infiltration of the Pudendal Nerve Prior to Sacrospinous Ligament Suspension
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Pelvic organ prolapse is a common problem. It affects about half of women and causes
uncomfortable bulge sensations (similar to sitting on a ball), urine and stool problems,
difficulty with sexual activity and embarrassment. Almost one of every five women undergoes
surgery to treat prolapse.Typically, vaginal surgery is done while patients are asleep and
local anesthetic- freezing medication- is injected where incisions are made to minimize the
pain from surgery when waking up.
Pudendal blocks are nerve blocks where local anesthetic is used to freeze a nerve that
supplies sensation to the vulva and vaginal area. It is traditionally used to help with pain
for women giving birth, but hasn't been studied well in women undergoing vaginal surgery for
prolapse.
The investigators believe that by using a small amount of freezing to provide a pudendal
block at the time of surgery, on top of the freezing typically provided, that there will be
minimized pain after surgery and improve the recovery process. Based on previous studies
using pudendal blocks for different vulvar and vaginal procedures, the investigators believe
this to be a safe and potentially beneficial practice.
The investigators are planning to conduct a randomized controlled trial of 50 women. 25 will
receive pudendal nerve blocks at the time of surgery, and 25 will receive placebo
injections.The investigators will monitor their pain scores, satisfaction, use of pain
medications and return to activities in order to determine if our intervention has caused a
significant improvement in recovery.