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Role of Transdermal Buprenorphine Patch on Pain at the Donor Site in Reconstruction with PMMC Flap: A Randomized
Preeti Athwani1, Sonal Shah1, Smriti Ticku1
1Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth(Deemed-to-be-University), Pune, Maharashtra India.
Purpose:
To assess the effectiveness of transdermal buprenorphine patches in reducing postoperative pain compared to intravenous tramadol in patients undergoing PMMC flap reconstruction.
Materials And Methods:
A randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, at our institute. Twelve patients undergoing reconstruction with PMMC flap were randomly assigned to two groups: Group A (control) received intravenous tramadol hydrochloride (50 mg thrice daily), and Group B (experimental) received a transdermal buprenorphine patch (20 mcg/hour) starting from postoperative day 1, with injection tramadol hydrochloride 50 mg administered intravenously on the day of surgery. Pain was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Wong-Baker Pain Scale, and Adult Non-Verbal Pain Scale on postoperative days 1, 3, 5, and 7.
Results:
On postoperative day 1, both groups reported high pain levels with no significant difference between them. By day 3, the buprenorphine patch group began to show a reduction in pain, although it was not statistically significant. However, on days 5 and 7, the buprenorphine group demonstrated significantly lower pain scores compared to the tramadol group, as measured by the VAS and Wong-Baker scales. The Adult Non-Verbal Pain Scale also reflected a significant reduction in pain by day 7 in the buprenorphine group.
