LAPAROSCOPIC VERSUS OPEN SURGERY FOR SUSPECTED APPENDICITIS.

Abstract

Acute appendicitis or inflammation of the appendix is an urgent problem that often requires surgical intervention to avoid rupture. In fact, it is the most common abdominal surgical emergency in the world; males have a lifetime risk of 8.6% and females have a 6.9% risk ( Jaschinski, Mosch, Eikermann, Neugebauer, & Sauerland, 2018 ). This is often an emergency, and the preoperative care nursing focuses on immediate preparation for the surgical procedure. The traditional surgical approach to suspected appendicitis has been the open appendectomy (OA), which requires the surgeon to make a small incision (about 5 cm or 2 in.) in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen to visualize the area. However, advances in endoscopic surgery make it possible to perform an appendectomy using a minimally invasive technique, laparoscopic appendectomy (LA), instead. This procedure requires only three small incisions (about 1 cm or 1⁄2 in.) through which instruments and a camera can be inserted to remove the appendix. The choice of surgical procedure can impact the patient in many ways including the level of pain, the risk for wound infection, the length of stay in the hospital, and the time until return to normal activity. The goal of postoperative nursing care is to minimize complications through early identification and early intervention of any abnormal findings. LAPAROSCOPIC VERSUS OPEN SURGERY FOR SUSPECTED APPENDICITIS