Abstract:
Nowadays even complex operative procedures of the gastrointestinal tract are regularly performed using a laparoscopic approach. However, the effect of these procedures on patients´ quality of life has not been studied in detail yet. The aim of our study was to determine the effect of complex laparoscopic pro-cedures on patients´ quality of life. Forty-seven patients undergoing complex laparoscopic procedures of the upper gastrointestinal tract between January 1996 and September 2003 were identified in the database of the Department of Surgery at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. The following three proce-dures were defined as complex laparoscopic procedures of the upper gastroin-testinal tract:
-Laparoscopic cardiomyotomy for achalasia
-Repeated laparoscopic fundoplication for recurrence of
gastroesopha-geal reflux disease after previous fundoplication
-Laparoscopic repair of a diaphragmatic hernia
A standardized questionnaire including the Short form 36 (SF-36), the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index according to Eypasch (GIQLI), and the Cleveland Global Quality of Life Instrument (CGQL) were mailed to these patients. Of the 47 patients, 32 (18 male and 14 female) responded to our survey. The median age was 51.5 years [range 27-82 years] with a median follow-up of 33 months [13-107 months].
The retrospective evaluation of pre- versus postoperative symptoms revealed an improvement of many of the reported symptoms; however, some of these symptoms persisted postoperatively. Compared to healthy controls, quality of life was impaired in several dimensions in our patients. Difference between the three patient groups occurred mainly in general quality of life as assesed by the SF-36 while gastrointestinal quality of life measured by the GIQLI was widely comparable between groups.
However, a detailed, prospective evaluation of the effect of these laparoscopic procedures on patients´ quality of life should be performed.