• Erdal Kalkan, Fuat Torun, Aybars Tavlan, Sahika Liva Cengiz, and Bülent Kaya.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Meram Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. erdalkalkan62@yahoo.com
• J Spinal Disord Tech. 2008 Apr 1;21(2):92-5.

Study DesignProspective, randomized, double-blind clinical study.ObjectiveTo examine the effect of meperidine-impregnated autogenous free fat grafts (AFFGs) on postoperative pain management after 1-level, first-time lumbar disc surgery.Summary Of Background DataUncontrolled postoperative pain impedes patient recovery. Insufficient control of postoperative pain makes it difficult to convince new patients to undergo the lumbar disc surgery.MethodsTwenty-seven patients scheduled to undergo lumbar microdiscectomy for the first time were divided into 2 groups by a randomized double-blind method. Group 1 patients received a meperidine-impregnated AFFG in the epidural area. Group 2 received the graft without meperidine impregnation. Both groups were asked to use a Patient Controlled Analgesia device to deliver tramadol, and at 1, 4, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively, the amounts of tramadol used and pain severity on the 10-cm Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were recorded.ResultsThe VAS scores and total tramadol use were both lower in group 1 compared with the control group (P<0.05). The first hour of VAS scores were significantly lower in group 1 than in the control group (P<0.05).ConclusionsIn this study, we helped patients, who underwent 1-level, first-time lumbar microdiscectomy have a postoperative pain-free and comfortable period by using epidural meperidine-impregnated AFFGs.

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