Pain After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Postoperative Pain After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy After Anesthesia With Isoflurane, Desflurane, Sevoflurane or Propofol

To the investigators' knowledge, no study has looked at differences in postoperative pain when comparing maintenance of anesthesia with isoflurane, desflurane, sevoflurane, and propofol in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The investigators' hypothesis is that total intravenous anesthesia with propofol will lead to less postoperative pain in the first 24 hours after laparoscopic cholecystectomy when compared to maintenance of anesthesia with isoflurane, desflurane or sevoflurane.

PURPOSE

To find out if maintenance of anesthesia with propofol leads to less postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy when compared to maintenance of anesthesia with isoflurane, desflurane, or sevoflurane.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patient ages 18-64
2. American Society of Anesthesiology Physical Status I, II or III
3. Inpatients scheduled to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy at Ben Taub General Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Open cholecystectomy - excluded due to increased levels of pain in open procedures
2. Scheduled for ambulatory surgery
3. Renal dysfunction (Serum Cr > 1.2) - excluded due to potential altered metabolism of anesthetic and pain medications
4. Allergy to any of the study medications or anesthetic agents
5. Chronic opioid analgesic use at home - excluded due to potential difficulty in assessing pain caused by the procedure alone
6. Patient inability to properly describe postoperative pain to investigators (language barrier, dementia, delirium, psychiatric disorder)
7. Patient or surgeon refusal