Acute pain syndrome and levels of peripheral blood saturation after various thoracic surgical approaches

The traumatic effect of surgical approaches was determined by the intensity and duration of pain syndrome and by the degree of lung ventilation disturbances after thoracic surgery. An acute pain syndrome was considered by visual analog pain scale and a blood saturation level for the first 5 days after operation. There were 3 groups, each group consisted of 31 patients. All patients were after thoracotomies, thoracoscopies, rethoracoscopies. Maximal intensity of pain appeared to be after thoracotomies and its degree has been reducing since the first till fifth day (from 8.1 +/- 1.7 to 4.2 +/- 0.9 points). The pain syndrome was reliably less after thoracoscopy (from 5.9 +/- 1.6 to 3.5 +/- 1.4 points). Minimal pain was noted after revideothoracoscopies with the dynamics from 4.0 +/- 2.4 to 2.7 +/- 1.2 points. The rate of blood saturation was more reduced after thoracotomy for the first two days till 92.9 +/- 4.6% and the saturation level became equal on the third day in all groups. Obtained data objectively confirmed the considerably less injury in the case of endoscopic thoracic approaches in comparison with open intervention.