Background: Appendectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in emergency surgery. Because\nof lack of consensus about the most appropriate technique, appendectomy is still being performed by both open\n(OA) and laparoscopic (LA) methods. In this retrospective analysis, we aimed to compare the laparoscopic approach\nand the conventional technique in the treatment of acute appendicitis.\nMethods: Retrospectively collected data from 593 consecutive patients with acute appendicitis were studied. These\ncomprised 310 patients who underwent conventional appendectomy and 283 patients treated laparoscopically. The\ntwo groups were compared for operative time, length of hospital stay, postoperative pain, complication rate, return\nto normal activity and cost.\nResults: Laparoscopic appendectomy was associated with a shorter hospital stay (2.7 Ã?± 2.5 days in LA and 1.4 Ã?± 0.6 days\nin OA), with a less need for analgesia and with a faster return to daily activities (11.5 Ã?± 3.1 days in LA and 16.1 Ã?± 3.3 in\nOA). Operative time was significantly shorter in the open group (31.36 Ã?± 11.13 min in OA and 54.9 Ã?± 14.2 in LA). Total\nnumber of complications was less in the LA group with a significantly lower incidence of wound infection (1.4 % vs\n10.6 %, P <0.001). The total cost of treatment was higher by 150 ââ??¬ in the laparoscopic group.\nConclusion: The laparoscopic approach is a safe and efficient operative procedure in appendectomy and it provides\nclinically beneficial advantages over open method (including shorter hospital stay, decreased need for postoperative\nanalgesia, early food tolerance, earlier return to work, lower rate of wound infection) against only marginally higher\nhospital costs.
Loading....