Polymer Clips Vs Endoloop for Appendicular Stump Ligation

Appendicitis is defined as an inflammation of the inner lining of the vermiform appendix that spreads to its other parts.[1] Features of acute appendicitis include right lower quadrant pain starting from epigastrium or umblical region which then shifts to right iliac fossa, associated with nausea, vomiting, anorexia or fever. On examination tenderness, rebound tenderness and guarding are usually present in right iliac fossa.

Various laboratory investigations to diagnose appendicitis include complete blood count, ultrasound abdomen and CT scan abdomen. A large, single center study found that multi detector CT (MDCT) has a high rate of sensitivity and specificity (98.5% and 98%, respectively) for diagnosing acute appendicitis.[2] Appendicitis may occur for several reasons, such as an infection of the appendix, but the most important factor is the obstruction of the appendiceal lumen. Left untreated, appendicitis has the potential for severe complications, including perforation, peritonitis, sepsis, and may even cause death.

Appendectomy is the most effective treatment of acute appendicitis and the most commonly performed operation of emergency surgery worldwide. Since the introduction of laparoscopy, the minimally invasive technique is being used to perform appendectomy. According to the 2010 Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) guideline, the indications for laparoscopic appendectomy are identical to those for open appendectomy.[3] Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is a safe and easy operation offering well-known advantages of laparoscopy, such as faster postoperative recovery, good cosmetics, less wound complications and less postoperative pain although laparoscopic method is expensive as compared to open method.

Various methods (endoloop, titanium clips, polymer clips and endo-staplers) are used to ligate the stump and mesentery of appendix during laparoscopic appendectomy.

Endoloops are being used widely for the ligation of mesentery since long but it is expensive and requires more expertise and skill to use the endoloops and most of the times 2-3 endoloops are used which increases the cost of operation. Now-a-days polymer clips are used for the ligation of stump and mesentery which are economical and require less expertise as compared to that required for the use of polymer clips. More over both of these methods does not have any side effects as investigated by various investigators in previous studies.[4][5][6] In a study done by Delibegović S. and Matović E.[4] who compared the polymer clips with the endoloop showed that mean operative time was 47.1 ± 6.7 min in the first group where the base was secured by endoloop ligatures, and was 38.7 ± 5.0 min in the group where the base was secured by hem-o-lok clips. The cost of the three hem-o-lok clips was 76.9 Euros, and that of the three endoloop ligatures was 88.5 Euros and according to them the simplicity of application, shorter time of operation, and lower cost of hem-o-lok clips are advantages of this way of securing of the base of the appendix in relation to the standard endoloop procedure. Various other studies have found similar results.[5],[6]