[Laparoscopic appendectomy as first choice intervention in the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the appendix. Analysis of 397 laparoscopic interventions].
Despite the increasingly widespread use of laparoscopy, especially for gallbladder diseases, laparoscopic appendectomy has not yet met with universal acceptance. The aim of the present retrospective study was to illustrate the technical aspects and the results of 397 laparoscopic appendectomies carried out at the Surgical Department of the San Giovanni Battista Hospital in Zagarolo, Rome, from January 1993 to December 2000. The patients included 260 females with a mean age of 35.5 years and 137 males with a mean age of 38.5 years. All the appendectomies were carried out laparoscopically, with a conversion index of 0%, by two surgeons, utilising only three trocars and the Veress needle technique. Mean operating time was 22.5 min (range: 15-30 min). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 1.5 days. Morbidity was 1.76% (7 cases) and mortality nil. The authors emphasise the numerous advantages of laparoscopic techniques in their experience, including the excellent cosmetic results, reduced postoperative pain, rapid functional recovery, and lower incidences of adhesions, wound infections and laparocele, and believe that laparoscopic appendectomy is a reliable operation for treating all inflammatory diseases of the appendix.