Postoperative spirometry after laparoscopy for lower abdominal or upper abdominal surgical procedures.

In this prospective study, we have compared women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic gynaecological surgery and laparoscopic minor gynaecological procedures (diagnostic, tubal, ligation) (n = 10 in each group) to determine if lower abdominal laparoscopy results in less postoperative pulmonary dysfunction than upper abdominal laparoscopy. Pulmonary testing was performed before operation, and 3 and 6 h after operation, on the first and second days after surgery. After operation, a significant reduction in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and peak expiratory flow rate occurred after laparoscopic cholecystectomy at each time. There were no significant changes after minor gynaecologic laparoscopy, whereas laparoscopic gynaecological surgery resulted in minor pulmonary dysfunction on the day of surgery only. We conclude that postoperative pulmonary function was less impaired after gynaecological laparoscopy than after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study suggests that the site of surgery is an important determinant of lung dysfunction after laparoscopy.