A comparative study of topical anesthesia for laparoscopic sterilization with the use of the tubal ring.

A study of 300 women undergoing sterilization via standard or open laparoscopy was conducted at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand; one aspect of the study was designed to determine whether application of topical anesthesia to the fallopian tubes reduces the degree of pain experienced by the patient. The use or nonuse of topical anesthesia was randomized for all cases. Overall, data from this study indicate that application of topical anesthesia to the fallopian tubes tends to diminish surgical pain of patients sterilized by use of either the standard laparoscopy or the open laparoscopy approach and that pain in the recovery period is also reduced for open laparoscopy patients.