Abstract
Background: Appendectomy is the most common surgical procedure performed in an emergency. Laparoscopic appendectomy is an effective alternative to open appendectomy. Our study aimed to compare the outcome of laparoscopic appendectomy versus open appendectomy concerning the length of operation, intraoperative and postoperative complications, postoperative pain score, length of hospital stay and return to daily activities.
Materials and methods: We performed 62 appendectomies in Sher-i-Kashmir institute of medical Science from September 2016 to September 2018. The diagnosis was based on Alvarado scoring, ultrasonography of abdomen/pelvis and computed enhanced tomography whenever needed. Out of 62 patients, 34 underwent an open appendectomy, and the remaining 28 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy.
Results: The mean age of patients was 30.1±11.82 years in open appendectomy(OA)group and 33.9±13.78 years in laparoscopic appendectomy(LA) group. We found that 22 patients from OA group were operated in <50 minutes and 12 patients with the time of >50 minutes with a mean duration of 46.1 ± 5.61 minutes while in LA group all the 28 patients had operation time >50 minutes with a mean time of 64.6± 5.92 minutes. Laparoscopic appendectomy is more time consuming than open appendectomy with a significant p-value of <0.01. The duration of hospital stay was less in LA group than the OA group, with the mean hospital stay of 2.1±1.38 days in OA group and 1.5±0.84 days in the LA group. The return to normal activity was 8.9±2.73 days in laparoscopic appendectomy group and 13.8±3.89 days in open appendectomy group with a significant p-value of <0.001.
Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendectomy is better than open appendectomy with respect to wound infection rate, early resumption of oral feeds, lesser postoperative pain, postoperative hospital stay and return to normal activities. Though the mean duration of operation was more in the LA group, it can be considered as gold standard surgical treatment for the management of acute appendicitis.

Key words: Appendicitis, Appendectomy, Laparoscopy