Single-Port Laparoscopic Appendectomy Performing by Emergency Operation: An Intervention Study in Vietnam

Background: Appendectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures of the abdominal area. One of the recent innovations is single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS), which can insert multiple ports through a proprietary device with multiple channels. An incision is sited in the umbilicus to result in no visible scar. Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the results of the treatment of acute appendicitis by applying single-port laparoscopic surgery. Methods: A clinical single-port laparoscopic appendectomy intervention of 122 patients, with the absence of a control group, was carried out by a sole surgeon at the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Hue, Vietnam, from August 2013 to December 2017. Research parameters included clinical history, physical examination, laboratory test, ultrasound imaging, intraoperative characteristics, and surgical outcomes. Results: We included 122 patients (64 males and 58 females) who met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 31.28 ± 13.51 years (range, 16 - 73 years). The average BMI was 20.4 ± 1.39 kg/m2. All patients had abdominal pain, and the average duration of symptoms was 17.39 ± 5.41 hours (range, 6 - 31 hours). Five patients had a history of abdominal surgery. The mean diameter of appendicitis in ultrasound was 8.8 mm (range, 6 - 15 mm). Moreover, 89.3% of patients had an increase in white blood cells. The difficult location of appendicitis was 1.6% under the liver and 20.5% in the retrocecal region. In addition, 18.0% of retroperitoneal appendicitis and 6.6% of appendicitis were under cecalserosa. The mean operative time was 40.19 ± 14.67 mins (range, 23 - 150 min). Two cases (1.6%) required additional trocar insertion. Three cases (2.5%) had wound infection and no other complications. The median hospital stay was 3.64 ± 1.72 days (range, 2 - 13 days). Conclusions: Single port laparoscopic surgery is the safe and effective treatment of acute appendicitis. This technique may be feasible for acute appendicitis with a difficult location.