Introduction: Appendectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in emergency surgery. There is still discussion which technique is more reliable and appendectomy is still being performed by open-access and by laparoscopic methods. In our study, we compare the laparoscopic approach and the open approach in the treatment of acute appendicitis. Our aim is to compare the laparoscopic versus open appendectomy for operative time, length of hospital stay, postoperative pain, complication rate, and return to normal activity.
Materials and Methods: For the period January 2011 - December 2016, 124 patients have undergone appendectomy, of which - 52 underwent laparoscopic and 72 -conventional appendectomy
Results: In our retrospective study we found that the laparoscopic appendectomy was associated with a shorter hospital stay (median 2.3 days in LA and 2.9 days in OA), with less need for analgesia and with a faster return to daily activities (7.1 days in LA and 9.2 in OA). The total number of complications was less in the LA group with a significantly lower incidence of wound infection (2.5 % vs 15.3 %, P <0.05). Operative time was significantly shorter in the open group (median - 42 min. in OA and 69 min. in LA).
Conclusion: Laparoscopy is safe and effective surgical intervention for acute appendicitis and it offers clinically useful advantages versus the open method (including shorter hospital stays, reduced postoperative analgesia, faster recovery of food intake, lesser percentage of wound infection) against only marginally higher hospital costs.
