EFFECT OF PEROPERATIVE LOCAL LEVOBUPIVACAINE INFILTRATION TO PREVENT POSTOPERATIVE PAIN IN LUMBAR DISC HERNIECTOMY

1.      ABSTRACT1.1.   Background: It is aimed to search if peroperative levobupivacaine infiltration over the dorsal root can prevent postoperative pain.1.2.   Materials and Methods: This study was performed between the dates February 2010-May 2012 in the Neurosurgical Department of Adiyaman Research and Application Hospital, in Turkey, among 120 patients who were operated for lumbar disc herniectomy. Half of them were given peroperative levobupivacaine (2 cc) on the related dorsal root, and the other half received serum physiologic (2 cc). After ten minutes, the operation continued. Postoperatively, the analgesic requirement, of the patients were followed for 72 hours. The data is analyzed with Kolmogorov Smirnov analysis to check normal distribution. The data was convenient (p>0.05). Measurable data was analyzed with student t test and the comparison was made with chi-square (c2). The data was evaluated in the confidence interval of 95% for both directions.1.3.   Results: The patients in the control group required analgesia immediately after the operation but in the levobupivacaine group the earliest analgesic requirement was after 4 hours, but some of the patients did not need any analgesic even up to 50 hours. 1.4.   Conclusion: We propose that peroperative local anesthetic infiltration reduced significantly postoperative analgesic requirement.1.5.   Key words: lumbar disc herniectomy, levobupivacaine, postoperative analgesia, preemptive analgesia