European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Appendectomy is a commonly performed emergency procedure for acute appendicitis. Surgical approaches have evolved from traditional open surgery to minimally invasive techniques, including laparoscopic appendectomy and single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (SILA). This study aimed to comprehensively compare these approaches in terms of operative time, hospital stay, postoperative pain, complications, and patient satisfaction. Methods: A retrospective observational analysis of medical records was conducted by Department of General Surgery at Magadh Medical College and Hospital, Gaya (Bihar) between period October 2016 to October 2019. Patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis were included. Baseline characteristics, operative time, hospital stay, postoperative pain, complications, and patient satisfaction were analyzed. Statistical tests were used to compare continuous and categorical variables. Results: Laparoscopic appendectomy demonstrated significantly shorter mean operative time (48.7 minutes) compared to open appendectomy (65.4 minutes) and single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (52.3 minutes) (p < 0.001). Laparoscopic appendectomy also resulted in shorter hospital stays (1.9 days) compared to single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (2.1 days) and open appendectomy (2.7 days) (p < 0.001). Postoperative pain scores were significantly lower in laparoscopic and single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (3.8 and 4.1, respectively) compared to open appendectomy (6.2) (p < 0.001). Complications were fewer in the minimally invasive groups, with laparoscopic appendectomy reporting the highest patient satisfaction (90.9%) compared to single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (80.9%) and open appendectomy (75.8%) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Minimally invasive techniques, specifically laparoscopic and single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy, offer superior outcomes in terms of operative time, hospital stay, postoperative pain, and patient satisfaction compared to traditional open appendectomy. These findings support the adoption of minimally invasive approaches in the management of acute appendicitis, potentially guiding clinical guidelines and optimizing patient care.