A study to determine the outcomes of laparoscopic appendicectomies at the university teaching hospital, Zambia.

Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of Laparoscopic appendicectomy in the management of acute appendicitis. Acute appendicitis has been managed solely by open appendicectomy at UTH. This was the first study that looked at the management of acute appendicitis by laparoscopy here at UTH. The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes of laparoscopic appendicectomy at the University Teaching Hospital. This was a prospective cohort study that included patients that were diagnosed with acute uncomplicated appendicitis. All patients admitted between August 2015 to March 2016 were included in the study. Variables analyses were patients data (age, gender, previous surgery, WBC count, symptoms, signs, symptoms), operating time, intra\post operative complications, and length of stay. A total of 9 laparoscopic appendicectomies were performed during the study period. The patients had a average age of 31.8 years, and were predominantly female (70%). One case was converted to open appendicectomy and was not included in the laparoscopic data group. The mean operative time for the procedure was 75.5 min (range 50-110min). The length of stay was on average 2.3 days (range 2-3 days), the patients in the study had no complications noted during the period of follow up. No patient developed an intra abdominal abscess during the study period.
Laparoscopic appendicectomy for uncomplicated acute appendicitis resulted in good surgical outcomes in this institution when compared to the regional statistics as reference point. It may be used as a preferred technique in patients presenting with uncomplicated appendicitis or where the diagnosis is equivocal . Laparoscopic appendicectomy is recommended especially for the young female patients in our setting.