[Status and outcome of laparoscopic appendectomy--results of a prospective study of 600 consecutive appendectomies]

In a prospective study 600 consecutive appendectomies were held. In 51 cases the surgery was conventionally ended after laparoscopic beginning. The laparoscopic proceeding was set independently of the dimension of the inflammation. Also the perforation did not exhibit any contraindication. The rate of complications of 8.7% was in the range of the conventional appendectomy. We, however, could show that with increased experience and save technique the morbidity, especially the septic complications could have been sinked to 2%. The duration of hospitalisation amounted on an average of 5.0 days, the surgery time 53.6 minutes. The main advantage of the laparoscopic proceeding is the outstanding overview with the possibility of a diagnostics of the abdominal cavity. Besides an acute appendicitis of which in 14.6% a perforation was present, relevant side findings were elevated in 11.3% which in 7.7% were endoscopic surgically treated at the same time.