Laparoscopic Versus Open Appendectomy

ABSTRACT. All patientsoperated upon for possibleacute appendicitis (laparos-copic or open) in a single private hospital starting in 1995and ending when 50 patients (25 in each group) were prospectively completed. Patients were com-pared regarding operative time, hospital stay days, returns to normal activity, and complications. Operative time was more in laparoscopic versus open cases (79.6 min vs. 53.4 min (P < 0.000I). The differencein return to normal activi-ty and hospital stay days was not statisticallysignificant. There were four cases ( 160/0) of wound infections in the open cases and one intra-abdominalabscess (4%) in the laparoscopic cases, respectively, Laparoscopic appendectomy of-fers no greater advantageover open appendectomy for the average patient with suspectedappendicitis