Laparoscopic Appendectomy Using a 5 mm Scope

Jeong, Jun Soo; Kim, Dae Hoon; Min, In Chul; Sun, Woo Young; Choi, Jae Woon; Jang, Lee Chan; Park, Jin Woo; Ryu, Dong Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE
This clinical research was performed to determine the safety of laparoscopic appendectomy using a 5 mm scope by comparing the outcomes with open appendectomy. METHOD: We examined the medical records of 441 patients that underwent either laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) or open appendectomy (OA) from March 2005 to August 2007. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data and compared: age, gender, days of hospitalization, operation time, time to oraldiet, complications, and readmission, between the LA and OA groups.
RESULTS
Among the 441 patients that were diagnosed with appendicitis, LA was attempted in 332 patients; 325 (73.7%) of them received the procedure. One hundred-nine patients (24.7%) received an OA. There were no differences in operation time (p=0.072), length of hospitalization, and complication or re-admission rates; however the time to oral diet (p=0.025) was earlier in patients in the LA group. There were no differences in the outcomes of patients that had an uncomplicated appendicitis and received LA or OA; however patients diagnosed with complicated appendicitis had a shorter length of hospitalization after a LA compared to those that had an OA (p=0.03).
CONCLUSION
There was no difference in safety between the laparoscopic appendectomy using a 5 mm scope and an open appendectomy. Laparoscopic appendectomy using a 5 mm scope provided a better cosmetic outcome.