Routine use of laparoscopy in patients with clinically doubtful diagnosis of appendicitis

Therapeutic and diagnostic laparoscopy, a minimal invasive technique, has been used effectively and frequently for appendicitis by surgeons. There is still controversy about whether this technique should be applied to all patients or in the setting of a doubt of the diagnosis of appendicitis, especially for women. Based on these controversies, the aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy for patients with suspected peritonitis imitating acute appendicitis.

Between May 2002 and September 2006, a consecutive series of 74 patients operated on for suspected acute lower quadrant peritonitis were studied retrospectively. Despite being unclear, the preoperative diagnoses were thought to be suspected peritonitis imitating acute appendicitis. Therefore, patients all had diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy.

Seventy-four patients included in this study were successfully operated on by laparoscopy. Thirty-five of these patients were diagnosed with appendicitis and had an appendectomy by laparoscopy. Six of the 35 patients were converted to a conventional open appendectomy because of retrocecal localization and perforated appendicitis. In the 29 of the remaining 39 patients, pelvic inflammatory disease, mesenteric lenfadenopathy, torsed omentum and ruptured hemorrhagic, and endometrial or simple ovarian cysts were revealed. So, these 29 patients' (39.1%) appendices were left in place, and an unnecessary appendectomy was avoided, thereby reducing the negative appendectomy rate. In the remaining 10 patients, nothing was found to explain the clinical signs. After a mean follow-up period of 16 months, postoperative evaluations of the patients were satisfactory.

Laparoscopy, a single procedure and an accurate modality for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute abdominal conditions, can be recommended in patients, especially fertile women, with suspected peritonitis imitating acute appendicitis when the diagnosis cannot be made by physical examination and noninvasive methods.