Transumbilical single-port laparoscopic appendectomy for chronic appendicitis: a report of 58 cases

Objective To evaluate the safety and feasibility of single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) for chronic appendicitis.Methods Data of patients who had undergone either conventional threeport surgery (n =58) or SPLS (n =63) for chronic appendicitis between January 2010 and November 2012 were analyzed retrospectively.The short-term outcomes of these 2 operative modalities were compared.Results The overall satisfaction score of SPLS group was significantly higher than that of the three-port group (4.5 ±0.7) vs.(3.0 ±0.6),t =13.50,P =0.00,there was less frequent use of parenteral narcotics in SPLS patients (1.2 ± 0.5) vs.(2.1 ± 0.7) times,t =-8.25,P =0.00,length of operation time was the same in SPLS group (40 ± 10) vs.(37 ±9) minutes,t =1.94,P =0.055.There was not different in postoperative recovery (1.4 ± 0.6) vs.(1.6 ± 0.7) d,t =-1.82,P =0.072,nor different in perioperative complications and intraoperative blood loss between groups (12 ± 6) vs.(13 ± 6) ml,t =-1.50,P =0.137.Conclusions SPLS is both safe and feasible in the treatment of chronic appendicitis. Key words: Appendicitis ;  Laparoscopes ;  Appendectomy