Comparison of Ultrasonic Dissection and Suture Ligation for Mesoappendix in Laparoscopic Appendectomy

Objective To compare the use of ultrasonic dissector and suture ligation for mesoappendix in laparoscopic appendectomy in terms of mean operative time and per-operative bleed. Methodology This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at Surgical Unit II, Holy Family Hospital over a period of six months. All patients with the diagnosis of acute appendicitis who presented in the emergency department of Holy Family Hospital on the call days of Surgical Unit II undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy were included in the study. After taking informed consent about the respective procedure, patients were allocated to two groups using computer-generated random numbers. Group A was operated using harmonic scalpel and in Group B suture ligation was done. Total time required to ligate the mesoappendix or to cauterize it using the harmonic scalpel was measured in minutes. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 110 patients were enrolled in the study according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. Patients in Group A were operated using harmonic scalpel whereas patients in Group B were operated by suture ligation for dealing the mesoappendix in laparoscopic appendectomy. Mean operative time to ligate the mesoappendix for Group A patients was 1.56 (SD = 0.68) minutes while that of Group B was 21.07 (SD = 2.84) minutes. There was no per-operative bleeding in case of Group A while its incidence was 24% of patients in Group B. Results were statistically significant. Conclusion The conclusion of the study is that the use of harmonic scalpel was better than suture ligation for ligating the mesoappendix in laparoscopic appendectomy in terms of mean operative time and per operative bleed, hence it's preferable over the later in laparoscopic appendectomy.