All patients had surgery to remove a suspected cancerous
tumour from their bowel by laparoscopic ‘keyhole’ surgery,
laparoscopic-assisted surgery or an open procedure resulting
in a laparotomy wound. Laparoscopic surgery, which
minimises the surgical incision, has been shown to reduce
postoperative pain and shorten recovery times (King et al,
2006), although there is evidence that suggests pain scores
can be higher within the first 9 hours when compared with
open procedures (Ekstein et al, 2006).