The late effect of intraoperative wound infiltration with local anaesthetic in surgical patients; is there any? A randomized control trial.

Introduction: Intraoperative wound infiltration with local anaesthetic is commonly used. Apart from the obvious immediate action it has been supported that a possible down regulation of pain receptors may lead to longer effects. Our aim was to compare the use of local anaesthetic versus placebo in order to assess if indeed there is a late beneficial effect.