[Perioperative pain and stress: a comparison between video laparoscopic cholecystectomy and "open" cholecystectomy]

Pain and endocrine-metabolic response to surgical stress, during surgery and in the early postoperative period, was compared in two groups of patients affected by gallstones and randomly assigned to Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy or Open Cholecystectomy. Pain was assessed by the VAS method also taking into account the need of analgesic administration in the postoperative period. The so called "stress hormones" (Prolactin (PRL), Cortisol (CORT), Human Growth Hormone (HGH)) and glycaemia were monitored during surgery and in the first postoperative 24 hours. The minimal invasive technique of laparoscopic cholecystectomy accounted for a very limited analgesic administration. In the intraoperative period laparoscopic cholecystectomy plasma hormone levels overlapped the open cholecystectomy ones, while in the postoperative period a constant increase in PRL and CORT levels was registered in the open cholecystectomy group demonstrating a prolonged stressful condition. The end results of this study show that laparoscopic cholecystectomy has major advantages than open cholecystectomy in the treatment of gallstones as far as pain and endocrine-metabolic response are concerned.