The Benefits and Risks of Performing Incidental Appendectomy

Acute appendicitis is the most common indication for emergency abdominal surgery worldwide. The risks and benefits of incidental appendectomy during other operations have been debated for over a century. There is no right answer to the question of whether or not to perform incidental appendectomy. Although there are only a few indications where it is explicitly recommended such as in gynecological surgery, malrotation, and Ladd's procedure, incidental appendectomy is cost-effective in selected patient groups, especially in the young, without an increase in morbidity and mortality. In this review, the literature on incidental appendectomy was assessed from several perspectives.

The Safety of Incidental Appendectomy during Total Abdominal Hysterectomy / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety of the incidental appendectomies in women who undergo total abdominal hysterectomies for benign diseases. METHODS: This was a retrospective case-controlled study of patients who did (n=54) or did not (n=70) undergo incidental appendectomies at the time of an total abdominal hysterectomy between January 2002 and December 2003. Data were obtained about operation time, the number of days with nothing by mouth, the length of hospital stay (LOS), postoperative complications and pathology of appendix. Data were analyzed using student t-test. RESULTS: 1) There was no significant difference between two groups in operation time. The mean time was 120.0+/-23.8 in incidental appendectomy group and 112.5+/-23.9 minutes in control group. 2) There was no significant difference between two groups in the days with nothing by mouth. The mean was 1.06+/-0.23 in incidental appendectomy group and 1.03+/-0.17 days in control group. 3) There was no significant difference between two groups in the length of hospital stays. The mean was 7.34+/-0.68 in incidental appendectomy group and 7.14+/-1.15 days in control group. 4) There were no significant differences between two groups with respect to the post operative complications; fever, wound infection, stump disruption, and postoperative bleeding. 5) Seventy-six percent of the histologic specimens were abnormal, with fecalith being most common, and there were three cases of acute appendicitis. CONCLUSION: An incidental appendectomy at the time of hysterectomy does not increase operation time, the days with nothing by mouth, LOS, and postoperative complication rates. The incidental appendectomies during total abdominal hysterectomy may be safe procedures.

Clinical Analysis of Laparoscopic Incidental Appendectomy / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the laparoscopic incidental appendectomy during gynecologic laparoscopic operation. Methods: This study was evaluated for the clinical analysis of 118 patients who underwent laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy(LAVH group, 65 cases) and LAVH with laparoscopic incidental appendectomy(LAVH + IA group, 53 cases) at the Wallace Memorial Baptist Hospital from Oct. 1996 to Nov. 1998. RESULTS: The following results were obtained: 1) There was no significant difference between two groups in regard to age. The mean age was 45.7 years in LAVH group and 43.8 years in LAVH + IA group. 2) There was no significant difference between two groups in mean operative time. The mean operative time was 90.4 minutes in LAVH group and 97.5 minutes in LAVH + IA group. 3) The mean appendectomy time was 7.1 minutes. 4) The mean time recovering normal bowel activity was 46.2 hours in LAVH group and 45.8 hours in LAVH + IA group. There was no significant difference between two groups. 5) The mean hospital stay was 6.4 days in LAVH group and 5.7 days in LAVH + IA group. There was no significant difference between two groups. 6) The postoperative complications occurred in 11 cases(9.3 %). The serious complications of appendectomy was not found. 7) Of the 53 appendices removed, 5(9.4 %) were abnormal pathologic findings. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic incidental appendectomy during laparoscopic operation was not found to influence the operation time, hospital stay, gas passing time, but there is one case of wound infection due to incidental appendectomy. Therefore, a large number of study should be performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic incidental appendectomy during laparoscopic operation.