[Laparoscopic appendicectomy versus conventional appendicectomy prelliminary results of a retrospective comparative study]

The value of laparoscopic surgery in appendicitis is not established. Studies suffer from many controversies. The aim of this study is to compare the safety and benefits of laparoscopic versus open appendectomy in patients with clinically non complicated acute appendicitis. One hundred thirty nine patients wore analyzed retrospectively following either laparoscopic or open appendectomy. We excluded peritonitis, appendicular abscesses and patients with history of digestive surgery. The main outcome measures wore operative duration, postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. There was no mortality. The overall complication rate was similar in both groups [13,9%versus 7,4%in the laparoscopic and open groups respectively p=0,22]. Operating duration was significantly longer in the laparoscopic group [62 minutes versus 40 minutes p=0,001] while there was no difference in length of stay. Laparoscopic appendectomy did not offer a significant advantage over open appendectomy in acute non complicated appendicitis. The choice of the procedure should be based on surgeon or patient preferences