Open Versus Laparoscopic Appendectomy: A Comparison of Outcome in a Teaching Hospital, Northeast Nigeria

Appendectomy could be open or laparoscopic. Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is gradually gaining ground in Nigeria, but its outcome is not entirely known.

This study compared the outcomes of LA with those of open appendectomy (OA) in terms of the surgical site infection rate, post-operative pain, time to return of bowel sounds, length of hospital stay, return to normal activities and direct cost of treatment.

This was a prospective randomised study. All patients above 18 years who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis in Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, were recruited after adequate counselling and consent obtained over the 18 months of the study.

Forty (40) patients were recruited with 20 on each arm. The average age was 25 years (±) 6 years and M:F was 1:1.9. The rates of surgical site infection and post-operative pain between both methods were not statistically different, while the time to return of bowel sound, the length of hospital stay and the return to normal activity were significantly reduced in LA compared to OA. However, OA was cheaper in terms of direct cost compared to LA.

This study showed that LA may be the preferred method when a quicker recovery from treatment is anticipated, provided the patient can afford the direct cost of the procedure.