©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Feb 27, 2026; 18(2): 113525
Published online Feb 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i2.113525
Published online Feb 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i2.113525
Impact of dexmedetomidine preconditioning on analgesic and postoperative recovery in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Min Chen, Department of Anesthesiology, The First People's Hospital of Linping District Hangzhou City, Hangzhou 311199, Zhejiang Province, China
Fang-Ci Chen, Qin Pan, Zhao-Hui Liu, Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Linping District Hangzhou City, Hangzhou 311199, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Chen M initiated research; Chen M and Liu ZH conducted the collation and statistical analysis, wrote the original manuscript and revised the paper; Chen FC and Pan Q designed the experiments and conducted clinical data collection, performed postoperative follow-up and recorded the data; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First People's Hospital of Linping District Hangzhou City.
Informed consent statement: The ethics committee agrees to waive informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Corresponding author: Zhao-Hui Liu, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Linping District Hangzhou City, No. 369 Yingbin Road, Nanyuan Subdistrict, Hangzhou 311199, Zhejiang Province, China. 15397152776@139.com
Received: September 12, 2025
Revised: October 24, 2025
Accepted: December 8, 2025
Published online: February 27, 2026
Processing time: 166 Days and 23.1 Hours
Revised: October 24, 2025
Accepted: December 8, 2025
Published online: February 27, 2026
Processing time: 166 Days and 23.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study demonstrates that administering a loading dose of dexmedetomidine (DEX) as a pre-treatment strategy before anesthesia induction offers notable benefits for elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Compared to the routine use of DEX solely during surgery, pre-treatment with DEX enhanced postoperative analgesia, reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, accelerated recovery of gastrointestinal and cognitive functions, and lowered the incidence of agitation without increasing intraoperative hemodynamic risks. These findings highlight the critical importance of the timing of DEX administration and suggest a promising optimized anesthesia approach to promote recovery in elderly surgical patients.