Effect of Duration of CO.sub.2 Pneumoperitoneum on Post Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Dysmotility: an Experimental Study

Pneumoperitoneum using carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) has well-known effects on respiratory system, cardiovascular system, haematological system, pregnancy etc. However, there are no previous published studies regarding the independent effect of CO.sub.2 pneumoperitoneum on gastrointestinal dysmotility or post-operative ileus. The purpose of our study was to establish whether prolonged intra-operative CO.sub.2 pneumoperitoneum has a correspondingly prolonged post-operative ileus. This experimental study was done using 60 adult guinea pigs, randomly divided into 6 batches of test and control. The test group was subjected to anaesthesia and pneumoperitoneum while the control group was subjected to only anaesthesia for the same duration. Starting with 15 min, each successive batch received an increment of 15 min of pneumoperitoneum and/or anaesthesia time until a maximum of 90 min. The animals were observed post procedure period for time duration of recovery from anaesthesia, ambulation, start of spontaneous feeding and defecation. This study leads us to conclude that the length of CO.sub.2 pneumoperitoneum does contribute to post-operative gastrointestinal dysmotility for prolonged procedures, in addition to the central depressant effects of anaesthetics and carbon dioxide.