Background: Thoracic surgeons spend a lot of time treating the pain of thoracotomy.
Methods: A total of 119 consecutive patients underwent elective thoracotomy. They were prospectively randomized into two groups. One group received an injection of 1% lidocaine with epinephrine in the planned skin incision just before thoracotomy, and the other group received an equal amount of saline and epinephrine. All patients had a functioning preoperative epidural; a skin incision the width of their latissimus dorsi muscle, which was cut; sparing of the serratus anterior muscle; undercutting of the sixth rib; intercostal nerve blocks before rib spreading; a similar number of chest tubes and pulmonary resections; and comparable postoperative pain management. Pain was objectified by a numeric pain score, a visual pain score, and by the Modified McGill pain questionnaire each day in the hospital, and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively.
Results: There were 66 patients in the lidocaine group (L group) and 53 patients in the saline group (S group). Although a trend was noted toward less pain in the L group during the first 3 postoperative days (on the numeric pain scale only) the difference was not statistically significant in overall pain in the hospital or at 3, 6, and 12 months after the operation. Other pain scores and descriptors were similar throughout.
Conclusions: The injection of lidocaine and epinephrine in the skin just before thoracotomy does not decrease the amount or type of pain during the hospital stay or at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery.