Comparison between Laparoscopy and Open Surgery for the Surgical Treatment of Appendicitis

The appendectomy is the most frequent surgical procedure in abdominal emergency surgery. Laparoscopic appendectomy is feasible, but its place is debated with conventional appendectomy as described by Mac Burney. We compared laparoscopy and laparotomy in the surgical treatment of acute appendicitis. We collected 306 patients operated for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in the emergency medical-surgical department of the University Hospital A. Hassani of Sidi-Bel-Abbes, during the period from 01/01/2009 to 31/12/2010. This is a prospective non randomized study comparing 140 patients treated with laparoscopy compared to 166 by laparotomy. We compared the main descriptive epidemiological criteria, and then we made comparisons of the diagnostic accuracy, the gesture of the appendix, the actions associated with appendectomy, operative time, morbidity, mortality and length of hospitalization. We found the benefits of the laparoscopic approach described in literature, namely the treatment of appendicitis, whatever its location, its severity and potential damage associated with a unique aboard. There is no difference in operative time between the two approaches in our series, for against the length of stay is less in the laparoscopic group. In conclusion, laparoscopic appendectomy is routine procedure in our establishment.