APPENDICECTOMY;

LAPAROSCOPIC VS OPEN

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare length of hospital stay, pain scores and the rate of wound infections
between laparoscopic and open appendectomy. Design: Randomized Controlled trial. Place and Duration of study: This study was
conducted in surgical unit I Holy Family hospital, Rawalpindi from 1st June 2009 to 31st May 2010. Patients and methods: The patients were
divided into open and laparoscopy groups and their age, sex, time of discharge, pain scores and wound infection rates were compared and
analyzed. Results: Total of 160 patients were included in the study, 80 in each group. There were 58% male and 42% female patients. Mean age
was 22.78 years (±6.2).Post operative pain scores were significantly less in the laparoscopic group (p<0.05). The length of hospital stay in open
group was 35.10 hrs (±5.4) hours and in the laparoscopic group was 38.70(4.8) hrs with a p value of 0.592.Wound infection was 0.037% in open
and 0.025% in the laparoscopic group. Conclusions: Laparoscopic appendectomy is superior in terms of less morbidity and shorter post
operative hospital stay in the setting of an overworked tertiary care surgical floor of a Pakistani hospital.