Intra-obturator bupivacaine injection and post-operative pain following the trans-obturator tension-free vaginal tape procedure: randomized study

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of a long-acting anesthetic injection into the obturator membrane for pain relief in women undergoing trans-obturator tension-free vaginal tape. Methods: A total of 22 women were randomized for the intra-operative injection of bupivacaine into one of their obturator membranes: the left or right side. All the participants were asked to define their groin pain on a visual analog scale (scored 0–10 cm) at 1, 6, 12, and 24 h post-operative. For each woman, pain scores were compared between the local anesthetic-injected side and the opposite side. Results: Statistically significant differences were not observed in groin pain scores between the bupivacaine injection side and the no injection side at 1 h (p = 0.76), 6 h (p = 1), 12 h (p = 0.95), and 24 h (p = 0.82) post-operative. Conclusion: In women who undergo trans-obturator tension-free vaginal tape procedures, intra-operative intra-obturator injection of local anesthetics is not effective in alleviating the characteristic post-operative groin pain. Trial registration: This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03479996).