Sleep after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

The sleep pattern and oxygenation of 10 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were studied on the night before operation and the first night after operation. Operations were performed during general anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia was achieved without the administration of opioids. There were no significant changes in the total time awake or the number of arousals on the postoperative night compared with the night before operation. During the postoperative night, we found a decrease (P = 0.02) in slow wave sleep (SWS) with a corresponding increase in stage 2 sleep (P = 0.01). SWS was absent in four of the patients after operation, whereas in six patients it was within the normal range (5-20% of the night). The proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was not significantly changed after operation. There were no changes in arterial oxygen saturation on the postoperative compared with the preoperative night. Comparison of our results with previous studies on SWS and REM sleep disturbances after open laparotomy, suggests that the magnitude of surgery or administration of opioids, or both, may be important factors in the development of postoperative sleep disturbances.