Effects Of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) On Wound Healing In Abdominal Surgeries Among Obese Individuals

Objective: Obesity is defined as excess adipose fat in the body. There is disruption in the immune mediated inflammatory process and vascular insufficiencies which delays the process of wound healing in obesity. Studies show that Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) facilitates the healing of wound in postoperative abdominal surgeries. When LLLT is administered within 24hrs post-surgery has shown to be beneficial, at wavelength of 632.8nm at power of 3-5W/cm2 stimulates cellular migration and increase the production of interleukin-6. This prevents the infection and spread of pathogens. Aim: To find the effects of low level laser therapy (LLLT) on wound healing in obese abdominal surgeries in reducing pain and promoting surgical scar healing in exploratory abdominal surgeries Material and Methods: This study is a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) with a sample size of 30, experimental (n=15) and control (n=15). The participants were collected from Sri Ramachandra Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The consented participants who underwent elective abdominal surgeries with BMI >30 were allocated into the experimental and the control group through simple randomization, respectively. Both the groups were measured for their baseline data, VAS (for pain) and photographs of surgical suture site on day 1 and at the day of discharge which were assessed for surgical scar closure using Autocad 2014. The experimental group received low level laser therapy at wavelength of 635nm and power of 3W/cm2 from postoperative day 1 till the day of discharge, three sessions, on every alternate day. Results: The data was tabulated for statistical analysis which was done using SPSS software version v29. Test for normality was done using Shapiro Wilks test. Since the suture site measurement followed the normality, independent T-test was done for suture site closure have shown healing in the experimental than the control group, the p-value is 0.06, 0.08. Additionally, the pain score which was assessed using VAS also showed significant reduction in the experimental group at the time of discharge with p-value 0.021. Conclusion: This study shows that LLLT used at red spectrum (wavelength of 635nm) is effective in reducing pain and enhances suture site healing because of analgesics and anti-inflammatory properties.