Obesity and appendicitis: Laparoscopy versus open technique

Area of Science:

• Surgical Innovation
• Obesity Medicine
• Gastrointestinal Surgery

Background:

• Obesity presents unique challenges in surgical procedures like appendectomy.
• The comparative effectiveness of open versus laparoscopic appendectomy in obese patients remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the clinical outcomes of obese patients undergoing open versus laparoscopic appendectomy for acute appendicitis.
• To determine if one surgical technique offers superior results in this patient population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 241 acute appendicitis patients (July 2016-July 2019).
• Focus on 57 obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²): 18 open surgery, 39 laparoscopic surgery.
• Primary outcome: complication ratio. Secondary outcomes: operation time, length of hospital stay.

Main Results:

• Laparoscopic appendectomy demonstrated statistically significant lower complication rates (p=0.01) and shorter operation times (p=0.02) compared to open surgery.
• No statistically significant difference was observed in the mean length of hospital stay between the laparoscopic and open groups (p=0.181).

Conclusions:

• Laparoscopic appendectomy is superior to open surgery for obese patients with acute appendicitis, offering better outcomes regarding complications and operative duration.
• Hospital length of stay is comparable between the two techniques in this cohort.