Intraperitoneal Local Anesthetic in Bariatric Surgery Study (iLABS Study)

Patient undergo elective laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy will receive 20mL of 150mg ropivacaine (0.75%) diluted in 180mL normal saline to be injected through a catheter along the greater curvature and left subdiaphragmatic region of the stomach at the end of the surgical procedure. After the surgery, the medical doctors or nurses in the ward that is not otherwise involved in this research will assess and record the pain score using visual analog scale (VAS) (0-10). The abdomen and shoulder tip pain intensity will be rated at two, four, six, eight, 24 and 48 hours postoperatively.

Patient undergo elective laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy will receive 200mL normal saline to be injected through a catheter along the greater curvature and left subdiaphragmatic region of the stomach at the end of the surgical procedure. After the surgery, the medical doctors or nurses in the ward that is not otherwise involved in this research will assess and record the pain score using visual analog scale (VAS) (0-10). The abdomen and shoulder tip pain intensity will be rated at two, four, six, eight, 24 and 48 hours postoperatively.