Study of Ketamine for Pain Relief During and After Hemorrhoidectomy Surgery in Adults

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the use of ketamine for pain relief after surgery in patients undergoing hemorrhoidectomy for Grade III or IV hemorrhoids. This prospective, randomized study compares intraoperative ketamine infusion with no ketamine in about 100 patients. Participants will not know which treatment they receive, but the doctors will, to examine the differences in post-operative pain and narcotic use. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups one receives a ketamine dose of 0.3 mgkg intravenously before surgery and an additional dose if the procedure lasts longer than one hour, along with standard general anesthesia and local nerve block. The other group receives standard anesthesia without ketamine. All participants receive pre-medications including Gabapentin, Ultram, and Tylenol, and will have surgery performed by one of three surgeons using the same ligasure hemorrhoidectomy method. During and after surgery, participants will track their pain using numeric and facial scales and will be contacted for pain assessments on several post-operative days. Follow-up occurs at two weeks post-surgery to count remaining narcotic pills and review recovery. Data collected include narcotic use and pain levels over 10 days. The study aims to analyze these outcomes after all participants complete follow-up, expected over 8 to 12 months.

Ketamine for Post-operative Analgesia in Hemorrhoidectomy