COMPARATIVE STUDY
JOURNAL ARTICLE
MULTICENTER STUDY
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Laparoscopic appendectomy for acute appendicitis: is there really any benefit?

American Surgeon 1993 August
Laparoscopic appendectomy is emerging as a popular treatment modality for acute appendicitis. Although claims have been made to potential superiority over traditional appendectomy, comparisons of operative difficulty, hospital stay, hospital costs, complication rates, postoperative pain, and convalescence have not been well studied. Two hundred consecutive patients presenting with signs and symptoms of acute appendicitis underwent appendectomy. Traditional appendectomy was employed in 101 patients, while 99 underwent laparoscopy. Successful laparoscopic appendectomy was possible in 89 patients who were compared with the 101 patients with traditional appendectomy. There were two pregnant patients with appendicitis in each group. The incidence of acute appendicitis was 72 per cent for traditional appendectomy and 74 per cent for laparoscopic appendectomy. Operating time was significantly longer with laparoscopic appendectomy (60.1 vs 45.4 minutes, P = 0.0001). This was reflected in higher (although not significant) hospital costs ($8,683 vs $6,213). Post-op hospital stay was shorter for laparoscopic appendectomy (2.7 vs 3.8 days, P = 0.001). Complication rates were no different between the two groups. Post-op pain, as evaluated by a patient grading scale, was less for laparoscopic appendectomies up to the third post-op week (P = 0.003). The amount of IM pain medication was greater with traditional appendectomy (P = 0.009). Convalescence was significantly shorter with laparoscopic appendectomy as measured by: 1) return to normal household activity (7.8 vs 13.2 days, P = 0.016), 2) returned ability to exercise (19.7 vs 29.0 days, P = 0.009), 3) patient feeling well enough to return to work (14.1 vs 19.2 days, P = 0.032), and 4) actual return to work (15.4 vs 20.5 days, P = 0.038).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app