Related Experiment Videos
Laparoscopic appendicectomy at the Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi
S C Patel1, G F Jumba, S Akmal
1Department of Surgery, The Aga Khan Hospital, PO Box 46256, Nairobi, Kenya.
Objective:
To evaluate our experience of laparoscopic appendicectomy at the Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi over a six year period from the inception of the technique and to assess its advantages and disadvantages.
Design:
Case series study.
Setting:
The Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi.
Patients:
One hundred and six cases operated on from May 1996 to June 2002.
Main Outcome Measures:
Clinical presentation, age and sex demographics, average hospital stay, operating time, intra-operative and post-operative complications and outcome.
Results:
There was a female preponderance with a female to male ratio of 2:3:1. Mean age was 30.6 years. There was a slightly more number of patients with recurrent appendicitis as opposed to the acute form. Totally laparoscopic procedure was in 39.6% of the cases, laparoscopic assisted in 45.3%. The conversion rate to an open procedure was 15.1%. Post operative port-site infection was 8.5%. No mortality was reported in these series. However there was one case which required re-operation following significant port site haemorrhage. Mean post-operative hospital stay was 2.2 days.
Conclusion:
Laparoscopic appendicectomy is a safe procedure in well trained hands. The major advantages are less morbidity and excellent cosmesis. Discovery of other intraabdominal pathologies is possible through laparoscopy as opposed to classical appendicectomy.