Outcome of Laparascopic Surgical Procedures in a Developing Country

Laparoscopic surgery has become the gold standard for some abdominal surgical conditions. The aim of the study is to demonstrate the feasibility of Laparoscopic surgical procedures in Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Maseru Lesotho. 26 adult patients had laparoscopic procedures under general anaesthesia using standard port entry with CO2 pneumoperitoneum. 10 patients (38.4%) had appendectomy, 9 patients (34.6%) had Cholecystectomy, 5 patients (19.2%) had diagnostic laparoscopy, 1 patient (3.8%) had right Orchidectomy, and 1 patient (3.8%) had Cholecystojejunostomy. Range of duration of surgery was 35minutes to186minutes with a mean of 69.5minutes.The duration of hospital stay was 1 to 21 days with mean of 3.9 days. One Cholecystectomy out of nine was converted to open procedure. One patient had diathermy bowel perforation during appendectomy. It is concluded that Laparoscopic procedures are feasible in developing countries provided the required equipments and expertise are available. The present results are not different from that obtained in the developed world. Key words: Laparoscopy, operation, developing country. Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol.47(4) 2005: 51-5