FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- A minimally invasive surgical technique for acute appendicitis that uses one transumbilical 5-mm incision seems feasible for select patients with acute appendicitis, according to a study published online April 11 in the British Journal of Surgery.
Georg Kaehler, M.D., and colleagues from the University of Heidelberg in Germany examined outcomes in 14 patients with acute appendicitis, without generalized peritonitis or local contraindications, who underwent transgastric appendicectomy.
The researchers found that two patients required laparoscopic lavage four days after transgastric appendicectomy due to initial peritonitis, but there were no leaks at the appendiceal stump or stomach. There were no problems with gastric access, no damage to neighboring organs, and no relevant bleeding or other complications. The surgery lasted a median of 105 minutes (ranging from 59 to 150 minutes) and the median hospital stay was three days (ranging from one to eight days). The patients were clinically similar to patients who underwent laparoscopic appendicectomy, according to the study.
"These preliminary results have shown the feasibility of this innovative procedure," Kaehler and colleagues conclude. "Additional studies, however, are required to demonstrate the specific advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and define its role in clinical surgery."
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