Early exploration or appendicular mass

ABSTRACT

The management of an appendicular mass has traditionally been conservative, involving a long hospital stay. The patients in whom mass resolves have to be readmitted for interval appendicectomy at a later stage. Those who develop an appendicular abscess during admission need to be operated upon for drainage of the abscess and still called later for elective appendicectomy. A prospective study was carried out to compare the merits and demerits of early exploration vs. conservative treatment of appendicular mass in the Department of Surgery, Unit-I, Lahore General Hospital attached to Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore. Fifty patients were admitted and divided in two equal group. One group was managed conservatively and the other underwent early exploration of the appendicular mass of five days or lesser duration. The mean hospital stay in the operated group was 3.48 days and in the other it was 5.7 days. No major complication occurred in patients who had early exploration except wound infection rate of 8 percent. We found that early exploration was not only safe and advantageous but cost effective as well. We recommend early exploration of appendicular mass of five days or lesser duration