Does the Use of Bupivacaine Soaked Vaginal Packing Following Vaginal Surgery Decrease Postoperative Pain?

Overview

In current practice, packing in the vagina overnight after vaginal surgery is typically used to prevent post-surgical vaginal bleeding. The vaginal packing is usually coated with either estrogen cream or bupivacaine at the investigators' hospital . There are reports in the literature that show nasal packing soaked with local anesthetic after nasal sinus surgery reduces post-surgical pain. To date, no studies have evaluated local anesthetic soaked vaginal packing after vaginal surgery and if this is associated with a reduction in post-surgical pain scores. The investigators seek to investigate if vaginal packing soaked with a local anesthetic reduces post-operative pain while providing the necessary action of minimizing potential post-surgical bleeding.

This is a prospective cohort, single centre, single-blinded study looking at a population of women post vaginal surgery with vaginal packing that is either coated with estrogen cream or 0.25% Bupivacaine + epinephrine (local anesthetic). Patients who have booked vaginal surgery for prolapse repair will be invited to participate in this study. A document describing the study will be provided for reading and will include the consent for the study. At the end of surgery, a vaginal pack is placed to decrease potential bleeding post surgery. At this time, patients will receive either vaginal packing with estrogen, or, the vaginal packing with 0.25% bupivacaine + epinephrine, according to physician preference. Patients and the nurses caring for them post surgery will be blinded as to which group the patient has been assigned to. The nurses in the recovery room and post operative ward will ask patients post surgery the day of surgery, (POD#0, two and six hours post OR) and POD#1 to rate the patients' surgical pain with a standardized, validated VAS pain score. Secondary outcomes will be recorded: the amount of analgesics used in hospital after surgery, intra-operative blood loss, post operative hemoglobin, the number of days until the patient is able to void, the amount of analgesics used at home after surgery (patients will be asked to keep a record of the total number of oral analgesic pain tablets used and on which day post surgery they stopped using pain medications) and other post surgical complications. Data will be stored in a secure, password protected desktop on site. Each patient will be assigned a unique number which can be traced back to a master file which will include patient identifiers (name, MRN, DOB). Data will be analyzed with the appropriate statistical tests. There are no additional tests or visits for patients. Patient study assignment will be disclosed to them at the 6 week routine post surgical examination/assessment visit.