POSTOPERATIVE PAIN FOLLOWING FUNCTIONAL ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Pain Management
• Surgical Outcomes

Background:

• Postoperative pain is a significant concern following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS).
• Identifying factors influencing pain can optimize patient recovery and management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential factors affecting postoperative pain after FESS.
• To analyze the association between patient demographics, surgical variables, and pain scores.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 124 patients' medical records from an institutional electronic database.
• Data collected included gender, age, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status, surgery duration, surgical extent (unilateral vs. bilateral), primary vs. revision, and nasal packing details.
• Postoperative pain was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) on the day of surgery and postoperative day 1.

Main Results:

• Mean VAS pain scores were low: 1.20 on the day of surgery and 1.05 on postoperative day 1.
• Patients undergoing unilateral FESS reported significantly less pain than those with bilateral surgery (p<0.01) on the day of surgery.
• No statistically significant associations were found between postoperative pain and age, gender, ASA status, surgery duration, antibiotic therapy, or nasal packing characteristics.

Conclusions:

• The extent of surgery (unilateral vs. bilateral) is a key factor influencing immediate postoperative pain after FESS.
• Patient demographics and other surgical variables examined in this study do not appear to significantly affect pain levels.
• Further research may explore other potential pain modulators in FESS patients.