Scalpel versus diathermy of midline skin incisions: comparison of mean pain scores on second post-operative day.

Objective: To determine the mean post-operative pain in scalpel versus diathermy opening of midline laparotomies.
Methods: The randomised controlled study was conducted at Civil Hospital and Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, from May to November 2010, and comprised patients undergoing midline laparotomy. Patients were equally divided into two groups; those who received incision with diathermy were placed in group A, and those who received incision with scalpel in group B. Mean post-operative pain scores were recorded using numerical analogue scale on second post-operative day. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Of the 58 patients, there were 29(50%) in each group. The overall mean age of the patients was 31.8±12.8 years. Besides, 40(68.9%) patients were male. The mean post-operative pain scores at 48 hours in diathermy group was 1.48±0.68 while in scalpel group it was 2.17±0.46 (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The use of diathermy for midline laparotomy incision had significant advantage over scalpel in reducing pain on second post-operative day.