Comparison of Postoperative Pain Between Single-incision Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Conventional Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Prospective Case-control Study

Background: Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) is an emerging technique used in cholecystectomy. Nevertheless, studies on the difference in postoperative pain between SILC and conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy are lacking in the literature. Patient and Methods: From August 2009 to July 2010, 20 consecutive patients who underwent SILC (SILC group) were compared with a prospective cohort of 20 patients who underwent conventional 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC group) during the same period. Standard postoperative analgesic protocol was applied to all patients. Pain scores were registered before operation and one day after operation using visual analog scale. Satisfactory score was self-assessed by all patients one month after surgery using visual analog scale. Results: There was no significant difference in the baseline characteristics, preoperative pain score, and intraoperative opioid usage between the 2 groups. The postoperative pain score was significantly lower in the SILC group (2.9 +/- 1.6 in SILC group vs. 4.8 +/- 1.5 in LC group, P < 0.01). There was also a lower analgesic consumption and a higher satisfactory score in the SILC group although the results did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: SILC resulted in significantly less postoperative pain than conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It is a safe alternative to conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy.