Appendicitis ; complications ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intussusception ; complications

BACKGROUND: It is controversial whether the delay of surgery for acute appendicitis by physician results in higher morbidity. Our present study explores this problem of physician delay on the postoperative outcome of patients with acute appendicitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Among 432 patients admitted for the presumptive diagnosis of acute appendicitis between Jan., 1995 and Dec., 1997, 358 patients with pathologically proven acute appendicits were analyzed. Physician delay from the hospital admission to the surgery was evaluated in relation to the stage of the disease at operation and postoperative outcome. RESULTS: Postoperative complications occurred signifficantly higher in advanced appendicitis group, than in simple appendicitis group. Postoperative oral consumption started significantly later and hospital days are significantly prolonged in those group. Both patient and physician delays significantly affect the stage of the disease. The finding that physician delay correlated with the stage, however, was denied by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: On the contrary to the patient delay, physician delay does not affect the stage of the acute appendicitis nor lead to increased incidence of postoperative complication. Physician delay to clarify the diagnosis is a reasonable strategy and it does not affect the outcome adversely.
Appendicitis* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Multivariate Analysis ; Postoperative Complications

PURPOSE: Recently, single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) has been studied for its being less invasive surgery and having cosmetic improvement. We investigated the application of SILS for an appendectomy (SILS-A) in cases of complicated appendicitis and compare it with a conventional laparoscopic appendectomy (C-LA). METHODS: This study involved a total of 40 patients who underwent C-LA or SILS-A in patients with complicated appendicitis; 25 patients received a C-LA, and the other 15 patients received a SILS-A. The clinical outcomes and cosmetic results were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The SILS-A procedures were performed successfully in patients with complicated appendicitis, but 6 patients who underwent SILS-A needed an additional port for dissection and drainage. Clinical outcomes and postoperative complications were similar in both study groups. The SILS-A group showed significantly higher numbers of pain control than the C-LA group, and the one port SLLS-A group showed significantly better cosmetic result than the C-LA group. CONCLUSION: SILS-A is technically feasible and safe in patients with complicated appendicitis. However, SILS-A has more postoperative pain than C-LA, and more active pain control should be considered for patients undergoing SILS-A.
Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Cosmetics ; Drainage ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Pain, Postoperative ; Postoperative Complications

PURPOSE: In recent years, single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (SPLA) has been gaining in popularity and there have been many reports on the results of SPLA. The purpose of this study is to investigate feasibility, safety, and cosmetic satisfaction with SPLA in treatment of perforated appendicitis. METHODS: From September 2012 to March 2015, 227 patients underwent SPLA at Damsoyu hospital. The patients were divided into the simple and gangrenous appendicitis group (the S & G group) and the perforated appendicitis group (the P group). Operation time, hospital stay, drain insertion rate, surgical complication, and cosmetic satisfaction were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 227 patients consisted of 32 patients in the P group and 195 patients in the S & G group. There were no significant differences in the demographic data of the patients. The operation time and hospital stay were significantly longer in the P group (p=0.002 and p<0.0001, respectively). The rate of drain insertion was also higher in the P group (p=0.0002). However, no differences in postoperative complications (p=0.281) and cosmetic satisfaction (p=0.090) were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: SPLA for perforated appendicitis is a feasible, safe, and cosmetically acceptable procedure. However, longer operation time and hospital stay and higher drain insertion rate should be considered for patients undergoing SPLA for perforated appendicitis.
Appendectomy ; Appendicitis* ; Humans ; Laparoscopy* ; Length of Stay ; Postoperative Complications

PURPOSE: With varied reports on the impact of time to appendectomy on clinical outcomes, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of preoperative in-hospital delay on the outcome for patients with acute appendicitis. METHODS: A retrospective review of 1,076 patients who had undergone an appendectomy between January 2010 and December 2013 was conducted. RESULTS: The outcomes of surgery and the pathologic findings were analyzed according to elapsed time. The overall elapsed time from onset of symptoms to surgery was positively associated with advanced pathology, increased number of complications, and prolonged hospital stay. In-hospital elapsed time was not associated with any advanced pathology (P = 0.52), increased number of postoperative complications (P = 0.14), or prolonged hospital stay (P = 0.24). However, the complication rate was increased when the in-hospital elapsed time exceeded 18 hours. CONCLUSION: Advanced pathology and postoperative complication rate were associated with overall elapsed time from symptom onset to surgery rather than in-hospital elapse time. Therefore, a short-term delay of an appendectomy should be acceptable.
Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Pathology ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies

Recent reports have demonstrated a negative association between appendectomy and ulcerative colitis. Many retrospective studies have shown that appendectomy appears to be protective against ulcerative colitis. Although the function of appendix is not known, all these studies have suggested that alterations in mucosal immune responses leading to appendicitis or resulting from appendectomy may negatively affect the pathogenic mechanisms of ulcerative colitis. Herein, we report a 45-year-old man who was diagnosed as severe ulcerative colitis 2 years ago. Colonoscopy revealed a feature of pancolitis. He has been treated with several courses of corticosteroids over 2 years. However, dosage of steroid was not tappered down because of the recurrence of symptoms. He was admitted with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis, and underwent appendectomy. Two months after the appendectomy, clinical symptoms and colonoscopic findings improved gradually. Two years after the appendectomy, the patient improved without the recurrences of symptoms, and is stably treated with sulfasalazine alone.
*Appendectomy ; Appendicitis/complications/*surgery ; Colitis, Ulcerative/complications/*physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Appendectomy is the most common emergency surgical operation in children. The laparoscopic treatment of pediatric appendicitis is controversial, particularly in complicated cases. The purpose of this study is to evaluate laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) and open appendectomy (OA) for simple and perforated appendicitis (SA, PA) in children. A total of 188 patients, operated from January 1992 to September 2003, were reviewed. Ninety-one patients underwent OA (65 SA and 26 PA) and 97 had LA ( 67 SA, 30 PA). There was one conversion of LA to OA in PA. Operative time for LA was longer for OA in PA (55.8 vs. 45.7 min; p=0.0467). Recovery of bowel movement, diet starting time, length of hospital stay for LA were significantly shorter than those for OA. Postoperative complication rate was not different between LA and OA in each group. Laparoscopic appendectomy is a safe and effective method for both simple and perforated appendicitis.
Appendectomy* ; Appendicitis* ; Child* ; Diet ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications

PURPOSE: We performed a study comparing the morbidity of laparoscopic and open appendectomy to assess whether laparoscopic appendectomy could be an initial procedure of choice for patients suffering with complicated appendicitis (gangrene, perforation and periappendiceal abscess). METHODS: We studied the patients who underwent appendectomy by either a laparoscopic or an open technique at Chungnam National University Hospital between January 2003 and July 2006. There were 118 patients in the laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) group and 232 patients in the open appendectomy (OA) group. RESULTS: The operating times and length of hospital stay were significantly shorter for the LA group than for the OA group (P < 0.05). Five patients (4.2 %) underwent conversion from LA to OA, but none of these patients showed more of a propensity for complications compared with the OA group. 51 of the 350 patients (14.6 %) had 67 postoperative complications, including wound infection, intraabdominal abscess, ileus ( > 72 hours) and small bowel obstruction. Complications were less frequent after LA compared with OA (10.2 % vs 23.7 %, respectively)(P = 0.01). There were less wound infections in the LA group than in the OA group (8.5% vs 14.2%, respectively)(P=0.02), and all the complications were minor compared with that for the OA group. A postoperative intraabdominal abscess developed in one patient in the OA group, but this didn't occur in the LA group. There were no serious complications requiring readmission or reoperation in the LA group. CONCLUSION: LA showed a significant benefit over OA in this study. The findings suggest that LA could be a safe primary choice for treating complicated appendicitis. To reach a final consensus on the scope of this study, a prospective randomized controlled study is needed in the near future.
Abscess ; Appendectomy* ; Appendicitis* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Consensus ; Humans ; Ileus ; Length of Stay ; Postoperative Complications ; Reoperation ; Wound Infection

Pediatric laparoscopic appendectomy is controversial particularly in complicated appendicitis. We evaluated the outcomes of laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) and open appendectomy (OA) in simple appendicitis and complicated appendicitis respectively. Since June 2004, initial LA has been our policy in all appendicitis including complicated ones. A total of 160 patients were included in this study, consisting of 80 OA (August 2001 . August 2003) and 80 LA (June 2004 . June 2006). We compared the operating time, the length of hospital stay, the length of antibiotics use, and the postoperative complications between LA and OA. In simple appendicitis (73), there were no differences between LA and OA. However in the 87 patients with complicated appendicitis, the operating time was longer in LA (64.8 min vs. 50.2 min) but the length of hospital stay was shorter in LA than OA (8.5 days vs. 9.6 days). There was one complication in simple appendicitis group and six in complicated appendicitis group (3 cases in LA, 3 cases in OA). There was no difference in the results of LA versus OA in simple appendicitis. Therefore for simple appendicitis, LA is recommended in consideration of the cosmetic effect (fewer scar). In complicated appendicitis, early discharge was an advantage and there were no differences in complications in LA despite a longer operative time. So we conclude LA can be considered as the first choice of treatment for all pediatric appendicitis including complicated appendicitis. To confirm our impressions, more well controlled randomized prospective studied need to be done.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Appendectomy* ; Appendicitis ; Child* ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies*

PURPOSE: Acute gangrenous and perforated appendicitis are associated with an increased risk for intraoperative conversion, postoperative complications and have been considered a relative contraindication for laparoscopic appendectomy. The objective of this study was to analyze the feasibility of the laparoscopic approach in all forms of appendicitis. METHODS: A retrospective review of 101 patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated and complicated appendicitis (perforated appendicitis and periappendiceal abscess) between June 2000 and May 2001 was performed. RESULTS: There were 84 patients with uncomplicated appendicitis (group A), 11 patients with perforated appendicitis (group B) and 16 patients with periappendiceal abscess (group C). The mean age of the patients was 42 (12~79) years and there were 47 men and 54 women. The mean operation time was 43, 67 and 105 minutes in groups A, B and C, respectively. Oral intake commenced at 1.4, 2.2 and 2.9 days and the hospital stay was 2.5, 2.9 and 5.2 days in groups A, B and C, respectively. There was no conversion to open surgery in groups A and B; however 4 patients in group C were converted. Complications were noted in 3 patients, one for each group. The overall complication rate was 2.9% and conversion rate, 0.9%. CONCLUSION: Although our experience is limited, the laparoscopic appendectomy seems to be a feasible and safe procedure for all forms of apppendicitis, including periappendiceal abscess.
Abscess ; Appendectomy* ; Appendicitis* ; Conversion to Open Surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies