APPENDECTOMY;

COMPARISON BETWEEN LAPAROSCOPIC & OPEN METHOD

Abstract

. Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to compare length of hospital stay, in hospital complications and
operative time between laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) and open appendectomy (OA). Setting: This prospective study was carried out at
King Khalid Hospital, Najran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over a period of 26 months from July 2002 to August 2004. Methods: Patients were
randomly divided into laparoscopic and open appendectomy groups and length of stay, operative time and in hospital complications were noted.
Results:60 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy and 65 underwent open. Operating time was longer in laparoscopic group but length
of stay was shorter in laparoscopic group. Wound infection was the common complication in both group but it was higher in patients who
underwent open appendectomy. Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendectomy can be performed with morbidity similar to open appendectomy
and may actually have decreased wound infection rate.