Endoscopy 2002; 34(8): 639-642
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-33241
Original Article
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Laparoscopic Appendicectomy: Review of 331 Cases over 7 Years, in a Saudi Arabian Hospital

O.  Tucker 1 , S.  Rashid Al Faqih 2 , O.  El Amin 3 , A.  Zaki 4
  • 1St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
  • 2Dallah Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 3Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
  • 4Department of Surgery, Bon Secours Hospital, Galway, Ireland
Further Information

Publication History

Submitted 16 October 2001

Accepted after Revision 19 March 2002

Publication Date:
12 August 2002 (online)

Background and Study Aims: Laparoscopic appendicectomy had been well established by Semm before the popular breakthrough of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of acute appendicitis.
Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study. Patients with signs and symptoms of suspected appendicitis necessitating surgery were selected for laparoscopic management between 1992 and 1999.
Results: A total of 331 patients were recruited into the study, 184 (56 %) male and 147 (44 %) female. The appendix was successfully removed laparoscopically in 98 % of the patients. The median operating time was 63.3 minutes, and 93 % of the appendices removed were histologically abnormal. Postoperative complications occurred in 19 patients (6 %), and included wound infection (1 %), enterocutaneous fistula, pelvic abscess, hemorrhage, urinary tract infection, respiratory tract infection, incisional herniae and pain at trocar sites. The mean hospital stay was 2.31 days (range 1 - 10 days).
Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendicectomy is a safe procedure with low morbidity. It is advantageous in obese patients, patients with other pathology, and patients with an unusual position of the appendix, and it has a low infection rate.

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A. Zaki, M.D.

Department of Surgery · Bon Secours Hospital

Renmore · Galway · Ireland

Fax: + 353-1-4142212

Email: alizaki24@hotmail.com