Hot Water Foot Bath for Pain and Gas Relief After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Launched by CANSU MERT · Aug 13, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is looking at whether soaking your feet in warm water can help reduce pain and help your digestion recover faster after having a laparoscopic cholecystectomy—a minimally invasive surgery to remove the gallbladder. The study will compare patients who take a warm foot bath after surgery with those who don’t, to see if this simple, drug-free method can make recovery more comfortable and quicker.

To join the study, you need to be 18 or older, have planned gallbladder surgery done with small cuts (not emergency or open surgery), and have a certain level of pain a few hours after the operation. You also should not have foot problems like wounds or infections, or certain bowel conditions, because these could affect the results or your safety. If you participate, you’ll be randomly assigned to either take warm foot baths soon after surgery or receive usual care, and researchers will track your pain and how soon you pass gas, which is an important sign that your digestion is waking up. This study does not involve any medications or devices regulated by the FDA, and it aims to find an easy, natural way to improve recovery after this common surgery.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Age 18 years or older
• • Undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy
• • Received the same preoperative gastrointestinal preparation protocol
• • Received the same postoperative analgesia protocol
• • Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain score of 3 or higher at the 3rd postoperative hour
• • Voluntarily agreed to participate and signed the informed consent form
• • Classified as ASA I or ASA II according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Undergoing emergency cholecystectomy or open surgery (laparotomy)
• • Presence of open wounds, infections, circulatory disorders, or lesions in the feet (hot foot bath area)
• • Use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in the early postoperative period
• • Any condition that impairs verbal communication
• • History of inflammatory bowel disease (due to potential influence on bowel motility)
• • Use of medications or probiotic agents affecting bowel motility in the pre- or postoperative period