Effects of Intravenous Lidocaine on Transperitoneal Laparoscopic Urological Surgery

Effective perioperative analgesia is the key to postoperative rehabilitation. An intriguing body of evidence suggests that short-term administration of intravenous lidocaine may produce pain relief that far exceeds both the duration of infusion and the half-life of the drug. When pain relief is provided, concomitant anal-gesic medication can be reduced, side effects from pain relieving medication minimized with a potential for a more rapid postoperative recovery and less complications. IV application of lidocaine should de-crease the duration of bowel dysfunction. We hypothesise that i.v. application of lidocaine in a standard antiarrythmic dose can significantly improve acute rehabilitation after laparoscopic urological surgery and so shorten the hospital stay (primary outcome). We expect that the intraoperative inflammatory response can significantly be reduced.