Pulmonary Recruitment Maneuver With 15 or 30 cmH2O Pressure in Semi-Fowler Position: Which Provides Less Postoperative Shoulder Pain Following Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery

Pulmonary recruitment maneuver (PRM) consists of five manual pulmonary inflations where each positive pressure inflation was done for 5 s at a maximum pressure of 30-40 cm H2O in the neutral position. When used after laparoscopic surgery and just before the extubation, PRM has been shown to facilitate the removal of intraabdominal gas and thus reduce the postoperative shoulder pain which is associated with the volume of the gas accumulating under the diaphragm. A recent study demonstrated that compared to PRM in the supine position, PRM at semi-fowler position provides better evacuation of the remaining intraabdominal gas and less postoperative shoulder pain following gynecologic LS. However, whether a PRM with lower pressure is also effective in reducing postoperative intraabdominal gas and postoperative shoulder pain is of question. This study aimed to compare the impact of PRM with two pressures (15 cm H2O or 30 cm H2O) in addition to the semi-fowler position on postoperative shoulder pain in patients undergoing gynecologic LS.