Reversibility of central neuronal changes in patients recovering from gallbladder stones or acute cholecystitis

AIM： To investigate the referred pain area in patients 2-7 years after cholecystectomy in order to test the hypothesis that neuroplastic changes could give rise to post cholecystectomy pain. METHODS： Forty patients were tested. Twenty five were cholecystectomized due to uncomplicated gallbladder stones and 15 because of acute cholecystitis. Sensitivity to pinprick, heat, cold, pressure and single and repeated electrical stimulation was studied both in the referred pain area and in the control area on the contra lateral side of the abdomen. RESULTS： Five patients still intermittently suffered from pain. But in the objective test of the 40 patients, no statistical significant difference was found between the referred pain area and the control area. CONCLUSION： This study does not support the hypothesis that de novo neuroplastic changes could develop several years after cholecys-tectomy.