Trends in Adoption of Laparoscopic Appendicectomy in a Developing Country: Closing the Gap

• Published in: World journal of surgery 2022-05, Vol.46 (5), p.1015-1021
• Main Authors: Naidoo, Maheshwar, Thirayan, Varun, Kong, Victor, Govindasamy, Vishendran, Dasrath, Ash, Mills, Bob, Bruce, John, Laing, Grant, Clarke, Damian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdominal Surgery; Appendectomy; Appendicitis; Appendicitis - surgery; Cardiac Surgery; Developing Countries; General Surgery; Humans; Laparoscopy; LDCs; Length of Stay; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Morbidity; Patients; Retrospective Studies; Rural areas; South Africa; Statistical analysis; Surgery; Surgery in Low and Middle Income Countries; Thoracic Surgery; Trends; Vascular Surgery
• ISSN: 0364-2313; 1432-2323
• DOI: 10.1007/s00268-022-06454-8

Background This study reviews our use of laparoscopic versus open appendicectomy over the last decade to track the trends in their usage in a middle-income country. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on patients with intraoperative confirmed acute appendicitis from January 2013 to December 2019 at Grey’s Hospital, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Results Eight hundred fifty-one cases of AA were included. 724 (85%) patients underwent open surgery; 435 (60%) via a midline incision and 194 (27%) via a local incision. 127 (15%) patients underwent laparoscopic appendicectomy. A significant rend was noted for an increasing proportion of surgery performed by laparoscopy compared to open surgery ( p  = 0.02). Patients who underwent open surgery compared to laparoscopy presented with greater peritonism (48.5% vs. 28%, p