Hospitalization time after open appendectomy by three different surgical techniques.

BACKGROUND

The choice of surgical technique to approach the appendicular stump depends mostly on skill and personal preference of the surgeon or on the protocol used in the service, and the influence of this choice in hospitalization time is not evaluated.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relation between surgical technique and postoperative hospitalization time in patients presenting with acute appendicitis.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of 180 patients who underwent open appendectomy. These where divided into three groups according to surgical technique: conventional appendectomy (simple ligation of the stump), tobacco pouch suture and Parker-Kerr suture. Data where crossed with hospitalization time (until three days, from four to six days and over seven days).

RESULTS

A hundred and eighty patients with age from 15 to 85 years where included. From these, 95 underwent conventional technique, had an average hospitalization time of 3,9 days and seven had complications (surgical site infection, seroma, suture dehiscence and evisceration). In 67 patients, tobacco pouch suture was chosen and had average hospitalization time of 3,7 days and two complications (infection and seroma). In 18 Parker-Kerr suture was made, with average hospitalization time of 2,6 days, with no complication. Contingency coefficient between the variables hospitalization time and technique was 0,255 and Cramér's V was 0,186.

CONCLUSIONS

There was tendency to larger hospitalization time and larger number of complications in conventional appendectomy, whereas in patients where Parker-Kerr suture was performed, hospitalization time was significantly smaller.