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Development of Effective, Opioid Sparing Techniques for Peri-operative Pain Management of Transgender Patients Undergoing Gender Affirming Surgeries

Development of Effective, Opioid Sparing Techniques for Peri-operative Pain Management of Transgender Patients Undergoing Gender Affirming Surgeries

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04979338
Enrollment
640
Registered
2021-07-28
Start date
2021-11-11
Completion date
2026-09-30
Last updated
2025-09-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Gender Dysphoria

Keywords

Gender Dysphoria, Gender-Affirming Surgery, Peri-Operative Pain, Pain Management, Surgery Pain, Sex Reassignment Surgery, Gender Reassignment Surgery, Vaginoplasty, Phalloplasty, Quality Improvement, Opioid Use

Brief summary

This study will compare the current standard-of-care pain treatment regimen options that are available to patients who undergo gender-affirming surgery. The purpose of this research is to determine if any of these options are more (versus less) effective than the others to manage surgery related pain, after surgery.

Interventions

OTHERUltrasound guided Continuous Infraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block

20cc of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1:200K epinephrine will be administered at start of case, 20cc of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1:200K epinephrine at end of case, and 6cc/hr of 0.25% bupivacaine at post-op \[administered by anesthesiologist\]

OTHERUltrasound guided Continuous Femoral Nerve Block

20cc of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1:200K epinephrine will be administered at start of case, 20cc of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1:200K epinephrine at end of case, and 6cc/hr of 0.25% bupivacaine at post-op \[administered by anesthesiologist\]

20-40cc of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1:200K epinephrine \[administered by anesthesiologist, pre-incision\]

DRUGBupivacaine

0.25% or 0.5% with or without 1:200K epinephrine

OTHERBilateral ultrasound guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block

40-60cc of 0.25% bupivacaine + 1:200K epinephrine \[administered by anesthesiologist post-op or at end of surgery\]

OTHERBilateral spermatic cord block

10cc per spermatic cord of 0.5% bupivacaine \[administered by surgeon @ intraop\]

OTHERPecs I & II Block

0.25% bupivacaine: 15-30mL per side for Pecs I-III

OTHERLocal anesthetic

0.25% or 0.5% bupivacaine into the appropriate surgical site

Sponsors

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Transgender persons 18 years and older * Undergoing gender affirming surgeries performed by either Dr. Maurice Garcia (orchiectomy only, vaginoplasty with or without canal & orchiectomy, colon-vaginoplasty, & peritoneal vaginoplasty; Stage I phalloplasty, or stage II phalloplasty); Dr. Edward Ray (feminizing chest surgery, masculinizing chest surgery, stage I phalloplasty); Dr. Amit Gupta (orchiectomy and peritoneal vaginoplasty only); or Dr. Yosef Nasseri (colon vaginoplasty surgery)

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria above * Any contraindications to the study drugs. * Patients with neurologic deficits that preclude them from sensing pain. * Patients with implanted pain neuromodulator devices (e.g., neurostimulator) * Patients who do not speak English

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Frequency of treatment complicationsEnd of study (average of 30 days after surgery)Treatment complications, such as hematoma, infection, etc., will only include those that are determined to be related to the study treatment.
Change in the opioid side effect of nausea, as indicated by number of post-operative days to toleration of liquid diet and regular diet, as well as reported experience of nauseaPost-operative Day 1 to Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)Recorded number of post-operative days and experience of nausea will be obtained from hospital records.
Post-operative length of inpatient stayPost-operative Day 1 to Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)Length of inpatient stay will be obtained from hospital records as the recorded number of days spent inpatient after surgery
Global satisfaction with respect to pain and physical comfort, as measured by a Quality of Recovery 15-Item InventoryDaily, starting on the morning of post-operative Day 1 to End of Study at the final post-operative visit (average of 30 days after surgery)Questions 1-10 will assess global well-being and physical comfort, such as ability to return to work or usual home activities, feeling rested, ability to enjoy food, and general feelings of well-being. These questions will be rated on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 indicating none of the time (poor) and 10 indicating all of the time (excellent). Questions 11-15 will assess pain and physical comfort, such as presence of moderate/severe pain, nausea or vomiting, worried or anxious feelings, and sad or depressed feelings. These questions will be rated on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 indicating all of the time (poor) and 10 indicating none of the time (excellent).
Changes in peri-operative pain location and intensity over time, as measured by anatomic pain mapsAny time pain is experienced, starting on the morning of post-operative Day 1 to End of Study at the final post-operative visit (average of 30 days after surgery)Anterior and posterior illustrations of the body, with pre-defined areas involved in surgery that may be circled, will be used to define pain location. Pain scores for each circled area will be measured on a Likert-scale between 0-10, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating the worst pain experienced in respondent's life.
Changes in opioid consumption per 24 hours, measured by total inpatient and total outpatientPer 24 hours, starting on post-operative Day 1 to End of Study at the final post-operative visit (average of 30 days after surgery)Inpatient opioid consumption will be obtained from hospital records. Outpatient opioid consumption will be determined from completed medication logs. Opioid consumption will be measured per 24 hours, by hospital location (e.g., PACU versus Ward), and by post-operative day.
Change in the opioid side effect of urinary retention, as indicated by time to spontaneous voidingPost-operative Day 1 to Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)Recorded time to spontaneous voiding will be collected from hospital records.
Change in the opioid side effect of urinary retention, as measured by a Urinary Bother Symptom Score QuestionnairePre-operative visit, Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery), and End of Study/final post-operative visit (average of 30 days after surgery)A Urinary Bother Symptom Score Questionnaire, obtained from the American Urological Association, will assess the frequency of different urinary problems, such as incomplete emptying, intermittency, and urgency. Each urinary problem will be measured on a scale from 0 to 5, with 0 indicating none/not at all and 5 indicating almost always.
Change in the opioid side effect of decreased GI motility and ileus, as indicated by number of post-operative days until commencement of regular passage of flatusPost-operative Day 1 to Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)Recorded number of post-operative days until commencement of regular passage of flatus will be obtained from hospital records.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Time to first day of bowel movementPost-operative Day 1 to Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)The recorded number of days to first bowel movement will be obtained from hospital records.
Number of participants with any hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge30 days after Day of Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)
Time to mobilizationPost-operative Day 1 to Discharge (average of 7 days after surgery)The recorded number of days to mobilization will be obtained from hospital records.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactJenna Stelmar, BS
jenna.stelmar@cshs.org805-813-7882

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026