[Video-assisted appendectomy]

The acceptability of the classic laparoscopic technique in the treatment of acute appendicitis is slow, probably due to the higher costs of this method compared to the cheaper, efficacious, safe and rapid discharge associated with traditional surgery.

In order to combine the advantages of the laparoscopic technique with those of traditional surgery, we performed a retrospective study of the safety, efficacy, rapid discharge with return to normal working activities, and the costs in 70 patients referred to our attention with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis and who underwent one trocar appendectomy. This technique consists of positioning a single trocar in an umbilical site and using a 10 mm telecamera with a 5 mm operating canal. Having visualised the appendix and freed it from any synechiae, the distal end is grasped and it is removed through the umbilical trocar. Appendectomy is performed outside using a technique that is similar to traditional surgery. The diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made on the basis of clinical data (pain, leucocytosis, fever, possible resistance in the right iliac fossa).