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In this article, a simplified technique for laparoscopic appendectomy is described in which the base of the appendix is firstly divided, and then ligated with an endoloop. An endoloop is then passed over the appendix onto the mesoappendix and tightened to secure the blood supply. The appendix can then be freed and removed. This technique has been used by the authors in difficult cases, and has produced excellent results.
OBJECTIVE: Fecaliths appear to predispose a patient to acute appendicitis, abscess formation, and perforation. The number of preoperative radiological evaluations is increasing, although children with suspected perforation still undergo surgery immediately. We report and discuss imaging findings and implications in children with acute appendicitis and fecaliths. METHODS: Four children (3 girls, 1 boy; mean age 9 years) underwent surgery for acute appendicitis. Three children underwent sonography and plain radiography before surgery, 1 child was operated without radiological evaluation. After readmission, all 4 children underwent sonography and plain radiography before surgery. RESULTS: In 3 patients a fecalith was diagnosed initially. After uneventful recovery all 4 patients had acute abdominal pain and readmission was necessary. In all 4 patients the escaped fecalith was demonstrated with sonography and plain radiography confirmed surgically. CONCLUSION: Discussion about the role of imaging in acute appendicities has concentrated on the diagnostic yield of cross-section techniques. The importance of demonstrating a fecalith, prompting a more thorough intraoperative search has found little attention. The radiologist should also detect and localize a fecalith and should be aware of retained fecaliths as a cause of abscess formation after appendectomy.
The treatment of acute appendicitis in children is sometimes followed by complications including intra-abdominal abscess, for which the traditional treatment is surgical drainage. We evaluated the efficacy of antibiotic management compared to classic surgical treatment. This retrospective study investigated 22 children from 5 to 13 years of age with one or many abscesses after appendectomy, treated between 1992 and 2002. Eleven received surgery and the other 11 were treated with triple antibiotherapy. The two groups were comparable. Surgery was efficient in 36% of cases and complications occurred in 64% of cases (digestive fistula, intraperitoneal abscess, gaseous gangrene and septic shock). Average hospital stay in this group was 16.7 days. In the other group, medication was efficient in 91% of cases; a recurrent abscess was operated and a residual stercolith, which was maintaining the infection, was removed. The average hospital stay in this group was 10.4 days. Medical treatment of intraperitoneal abscess seems to be effective. Hospitalisation is shorter with medical management and complications are rare. Therefore, medication may be proposed in most cases, except when there are residual foreign bodies or stercoliths. Poor patient status and septic shock are the two other contraindications, because antibiotherapy is not immediately efficient.
Aggressive intraabdominal fibromatosis is a rare response to surgical trauma. Characteristic is the local destroying growth. Only an operation in the purpose of R0-resection ends in cure. We report on a 29-year-old man, who developed intraabdominal fibromatosis as reaction to surgical trauma 19 years after appendectomy and subsequent to several relaparotomies due to adhesions. A huge conglomeratumor which included the ileum and the colon acsendens resulted in bowel obstruction and ileus. Complete surgical removal of the tumor lead after a primary complicated course to recovery.
These newly developed endoscopic methods in gynaecology for haemostasis during surgical pelviscopy (Endocoagulation Roeder-loop ligation, endoligature, endo-suture with intra- and extracorporeal knotting) make it possible to carry out appendectomy by endoscopy for any of the following indications: Postoperative adhesion of the appendix especially in "sterility" patients, elongated appendix extending into the small pelvis, endometriosis of the appendix, subacute and chronic appendicitis. The instrument-set employed in this method permits the performance of all the usual classical operative steps (purse-string suture, and Z-suture acc. to McBurney and Sprengel). The point for resection has to be sterilized over 20-30 sec. at 212 degrees F using the crocodile forceps (endocoagulation procedure) before division and extraction of the appendix is effected.
Since March 1992 we initially performed 87 laparoscopic appendectomies applying two cat-gut loops for ligation of the stump. Since we postoperatively found abscess formation twice, we modified the technique in the following aspects: After the introduction of the scope at the umbilicus, 2 working trocars with a diameter of a 5 mm are placed in the left lower quadrant of the abdomen, so that the surgeon can skeletonize the appendix bimanually until it can be dissected with an Endo-GIA. This procedure we carried out in 41 cases and did not see any postoperative complications yet. Thus we consider it an appropriate alternative to conventional surgery.
During the period May 1988 to August 1990, 871 children aged between 0 and 15 years were appendectomized by laparotomy because of suspected appendicitis at the department of pediatric surgery, St. Göran's Children's Hospital. The children were followed 4-6 years after appendectomy. 1.3 % (10/791) developed clinical symptoms consistent with mechanical small bowel obstruction (SBO) resulting in relaparotomy and confirmation of the diagnosis. The patients were divided into subgroups according to the degree of appendicitis. In the group with normal appendix 1.8% (3/170) developed mechanical SBO, simple appendicitis 0% (0/209), gangrenous appendicitis 0.4 % (1/236) and perforated appendicitis 3.4% (6/176). There was no mortality due to postoperative complications. Two patients died due to unrelated causes during the follow-up period.
An 11-year-old boy suffered from macroscopic haematuria and bilateral flank pain a few days after uneventful appendectomy for retrocaecal appendicitis phlegmonosa. Ultrasonography revealed a complete bilateral distal obstruction of the ureters. Renal failure due to postrenal anuria resolved completely after intravenous antibiotics.
A 15-year-old girl developed a persistent bacteraemia with Klebsiella pneumoniae accompanied by systemic symptoms including high fever and rigors after appendectomy. Extensive laboratory and imaging work-up, including tests for an intra-vascular source of infection, did not reveal the origin of the persistent bacteraemia. The Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to gentamicin and colistin and intermediately susceptible to meropenem. The septicaemia persisted despite the intravenous administration of meropenem 1 g and later 2 g every 8 h in combination with intravenous gentamicin and later colistin. The patient was cured only after the continuous intravenous administration of meropenem of 6 g/d.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the practice of laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) in Italy. METHODS: On behalf of the Italian Society of Young Surgeons (SPIGC), an audit of LA was carried out through a written questionnaire sent to 800 institutions in Italy. The questions concerned the diffusion of laparoscopic surgery and LA over the period 1990 through 2001, surgery-related morbidity and mortality rates, indications for LA, the diagnostic algorithm adopted prior to surgery, and use of LA among young surgeons (<40 years). RESULTS: A total of 182 institutions (22.7%) participated in the current audit, and accounted for a total number of 26863 LA. Laparoscopic surgery is performed in 173 (95%) institutions, with 144 (83.2%) routinely performing LA. The mean interval from introduction of laparoscopic surgery to inception of LA was 3.4 +/- 2.5 years. There was an emergent basis for 8809 (32.8%) LA procedures (<6 hours of admission); 10314 (38.4%) procedures were performed on an urgent basis (<24 hours of admission); while 7740 (28.8%) procedures were elective. The conversion rate was 2.1% (561 cases) and was due to intraoperative complications in 197 cases (35.1%). Intraoperative complications ranged as high as 0.32%, while postoperative complications were reported in 1.2% of successfully completed LA. The mean hospital stay for successfully completed LA was 2.5 +/- 1.05 days. The highest rate of intraoperative complications was reported as occurring during the learning curve phase of their experience (in their first 10 procedures) by 39.7% of the surgeons. LA was indicated for every case of suspected acute appendiceal disease by 51.8% of surgeons, and 44.8% order abdominal ultrasound (US) prior to surgery. A gynecologic counseling is deemed necessary only by 34.5% surgeons, while an abdominal CT scan is required only by 1.5%. The procedure is completed laparoscopically in the absence of gross appendiceal inflammation by 83%; 79.8% try to complete the procedure laparoscopically in the presence of concomitant disease; while 10.4% convert to open surgery in cases of suspected malignancy. Of responding surgeons aged under 40, 76.3% can perform LA, compared to 47.3% surgeons of all age categories. CONCLUSIONS: The low response rate of the present survey does not allow us to assess the diffusion of LA in Italy, but rather to appraise its practice in centers routinely performing laparoscopic surgery. In the hands of experienced surgeons, LA has morbidity rates comparable to those of international series. The higher diagnostic yield of laparoscopy makes it an invaluable tool in the management algorithm of women of childbearing age; its advantages in the presence of severe peritonitis are less clear-cut. Surgeons remain the main limiting factor preventing a wider diffusion of LA in our country, since only 47.3% of surgeons from the audited institutions can perform LA on a routine basis.
BACKGROUND: Serious complications may occur during laparoscopic surgery, as in any surgical procedure. Injuries of major retroperitoneal vascular structures are uncommon but important complications of laparoscopy. METHODS: We report on 9 major vascular injuries in 8 patients in the course of 8 laparoscopic procedures between 1994 and 2002. RESULTS: The primary operations were cholecystectomy in 7 patients and appendectomy in one patient. Six vascular injuries occurred during placement of the first umbilical trocar, two in the course of the insertion of a Veress needle, and one during the insertion of the second trocar. A laparotomy was performed immediately in all cases. Left common iliac arteries were injured in two patients, aorta in three patients, right common iliac vein in one patient, both right common iliac artery and vein in one patient, and inferior vena cava in one patient. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft interposition was employed in two common iliac arteries and a tubular PTFE graft in one aortic injury, and Dacron patchplasty in one common iliac artery injury. Two aortic, two common iliac vein, and an inferior vena cava injury were repaired primarily. There were also four visceral organ injuries, which were repaired primarily. The major retroperitoneal vascular complication rate was 0.07%. An average of 3.5 units of whole blood were transfused in each case and the average stay in hospital was 6.8 days. There was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The surgeon's experience and knowledge are the essential factors for prevention of major vascular injuries during laparoscopic procedures. In case of an injury, immediate laparotomy must be performed to achieve hemostasis and a surgeon who is familiar with vascular surgery should employ the definitive treatment.
We report the case of an 18-year-old boy who developed an intrathoracic abscess with rupture of the diaphragm following a laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) for a perforated appendicitis. LA is an established procedure in the treatment of appendicitis. It is a safe and efficacious technique, but several complications can occur with this procedure, and surgeons should be aware of the potential dangers. Herein, we present a previously unreported thoracic complication following an LA.
We report a case of a 30-year-old male patient who presented with a huge abdominal wall hematoma 60 minutes after laparoscopic appendectomy. During surgery there had been no sign of abdominal wall bleeding. We found a lateral abdominal wall hematoma caused by rupture of the abdominal epigastric artery after trocar insertion. We conclude that trocar injury is a potentially preventable complication in laparoscopic surgery if certain precautions are taken. Abdominal wall hematoma secondary to injury of an epigastric vessel can be successfully treated with conservative management.
This article reports a new technique for laparoscopic appendectomy. The endocoagulator is used to effect sealing of the appendicular vessels, by heat, before their division. The technical steps are described. The results obtained from 30 cases prove its efficacy, safety, simplicity, and adaptability to varying clinical situations. The possible benefit of future nonadhesion formation is discussed.
The appendix is an under-appreciated source of chronic pelvic pain. Laparoscopic evaluation of the appendix is limited without intra-operative patient feedback on the presence and absence of pain. New techniques using local anaesthesia with conscious sedation have enabled us to perform operative laparoscopic surgery while the patient is awake. We report the first two cases of microlaparoscopic appendectomies performed under local anaesthesia with conscious sedation following diagnosis obtained during conscious pain mapping.
Bacteremia caused by Bacteroides fragilis occurred in four of 75 children after renal transplantation, and B. fragilis was the most common cause of postoperative bacteremia. Bacteroides bacteremia was significantly associated with performance of elective appendectomy at the time of transplantation (P less than 0.01) and with profound lymphocytopenia (P = 0.01). No patient received antibiotics at the time of surgery or prior to the first positive blood culture, yet B. fragilis was the single organism isolated from blood and abscesses in these patients. A role for lymphocytes in containment of B. fragilis has not been suggested previously, although unexplained occurrence of bacteroides bacteremia in immunocompromised patients has occasionally been reported. Lymphocytes themselves may be important in this host-bacterium interaction, or lymphocytopenia may be the marker for a more generalized deficiency in host defenses.
OBJECTIVE: To study the sensitivity and the specificity for ultrasonography and computed tomography in patients with suspected appendicitis, and their value to the clinician. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The negative appendectomy rate and the sensitivity and the specificity for ultrasonography and computed tomography in patients with suspected appendicitis. RESULT: The diagnostic accuracy was 88% (men 95%, women 80%). Two hundred and thirty-nine patients were examined by ultrasonography preoperatively. The sensitivity for ultrasonography was 0.82 and the specificity was 0.97. Forty-nine patients were examined by computed tomography preoperatively. The sensitivity for computer tomography was 0.88 and the specificity was 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that ultrasound and computed tomography investigations on patients with suspected appendicitis are of great value. Computed tomography seems to have a higher sensitivity than ultrasound and a high specificity. In fertile women, where unnecessary surgery is best avoided, we believe that computed tomography investigation or ultrasound examination are better alternatives to surgical intervention.
Laparoscopy has been performed in 32 patients in whom the diagnosis of appendicitis was suspected, but in whom clinical findings were equivocal and insufficient to establish the diagnosis. These patients represented 13.6% of the total group of patients admitted with questionable appendicitis during this period. Fifty per cent of these 32 patients had unusual clinical features, such as a prolonged history of symptoms, significant intercurrent disease, prior treatment with antibiotics or steroids, etc. At laparoscopy, the diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made in 17 patients. Another disease was diagnosed in 8 patients, and 7 were judged to have no pathologic abnormalities. There were two false negative examinations and one false positive, but no ruptured appendices resulted. Twelve patients (37.5%) were spared operation by laparoscopy. The negative appendectomy rate was decreased from 10 to 1%.