2Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yedikule Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul
3Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nazilli State Hospital, Aydın, Turkey
4Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey DOI : 10.26663/cts.2024.005 Viewed : 174 - Downloaded : 73 Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the long-term pain and quality of life of patients following the pericostal closure (PC) and double edge closure (EC) techniques.
Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted between April 2019 and January 2021 with 60 patients who underwent thoracotomy and surgical resection for non-small cell lung cancer
Results: The median length of stay was 4 days for both the EC and PC groups (p = 0.608). Complications occurred in 11 patients (18.3%) overall, including 5 patients in the PC group (16.7%) and 6 patients in the EC group (20%). The complication rate did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.739). The most common complication was prolonged air leak (n = 9, 15%). Mean postoperative pain scores were lower in the EC group than in the PC group on the first 4 days and at 2 weeks (p < 0.05). While there was no difference between the two groups in terms of neuropathic pain at 6 months, an analysis of quality of life showed that the PC group experienced more perceived pain.
Conclusions: The EC technique was associated with less thoracotomy pain in the early postoperative period. However, it was not found to affect neuropathic pain in the long term.
Keywords : thoracotomy, pain, double edge technique