Pouch of Douglas block for laparoscopic sterilisation

The use of local anaesthetic has been shown to reduce the incidence of pain after laparoscopic sterilisation and the need for opioid analgesia from day surgery. We investigated a technique in which a catheter is placed in the pouch of Douglas allowing repeated-administration of local anaesthetic in the postoperative period. Forty patients were randomly allocated pre-operatively into one of two groups to receive in a double-blind manner either lignocaine 1% or normal saline. Pain was assessed using visual analogue and subjective scoring systems. Postoperative pain scores were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) after injection of lignocaine through the catheter. There were no complications related to the technique and no evidence of local anaesthetic toxicity. Lignocaine instilled into the Pouch of Douglas is an effective method for postoperative pain relief after laparoscopic sterilisation.