Laparoscopic Versus Open Appendectomy

Abstract

Background: Appendectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in general surgery. For almost a century, open appendectomy, first described by Charles McBurney in 1889, has remained the gold standard treatment for acute appendicitis. The introduction of laparoscopic surgery has dramatically changed the field of surgery and laparoscopic surgery has been widely used as a minimally invasive surgery. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate of the results of the laparoscopic versus open appendectomy in both genders regarding operative time, operative findings, post-operative complications, hospital stay, post-operative analgesia as well as return of the patients to their normal activity. Methodology: This study included 40 patients who presented to Ain Shams University Hospital, casuality department, from Novemer 2017 to April 2018. The age of the patients ranged from 14-45 years and they were randomly allocated into two groups 20 patients. Results: The mean operating time in laparoscopic appendectomy was longer than that in the open approach (57.5 minutes in laparoscopic group versus 39.8 min in open group). The overall post-operative complications were similar in the 2 group but the incidence of wound infection was less in laparoscopic group (5% versus 25%). The mean hospital stay was shorter in laparoscopic patients than open appendectomy patients (1.4 days versus 3.3 days). Conclusion: The use of laparoscope in suspected appendicitis is better than the open method especially in equivocal cases to reach an exact diagnosis. We must not hesitate to convert laparoscopic