Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Cesarean sections are a common surgical procedure and are associated with post-operative pain. The objective of this study is to describe the variability in cesarean section incision length and its association with post-operative pain, scar satisfaction and analgesia use. METHODS: After approval from the Institutional Review Board, we conducted a hospital-based study on women from a tertiary care center's post-partum unit who delivered by cesarean section. Written informed consent was obtained. Post-operative pain was measured using a visual analog scale from 0 to 10 at the first post-operative day. Cesarean section incision length was measured on the second post-operative day. Descriptive analyses were used to describe incision lengths and pain levels. RESULTS: We recruited 107 women having delivered by cesarean section. The mean incision length was 16.39 cm (SD ± 1.78 cm), ranging from 13 to 22 cm, and skewed towards longer incisions, with 20.6% having an incision ≥ 18 cm. The mean pain level on the first post-operative day was 5.7/10 (SD = ± 2.6), 4.4/10 (SD = ± 2.3) on the second day, and 1.9/10 (SD = ± 2.2) at 6 weeks post-partum. There was no significant difference in pain level according to incision length at the first (P=0.224), second (P=0.350), and 6 week (P=0.904) post-operative mark CONCLUSION: There is considerable variability in cesarean delivery incision length. We did not identify any significant predictor for larger incisions. Incision length was found to have no impact on the post-operative pain level at one day, two days or six weeks after cesarean delivery.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call