Objectives: Appendicitis, being the frequent surgical emergency condition, warrants surgery immediately or electively in order to alleviate complications. Appendectomy can be done through laparoscopic or open access. The incision for open appendectomy varies according to clinical condition of the patient and the surgeon’s preference. This study aims at bringing out the advantage, utility and cosmesis of using a mini incision for open appendectomy at our hospital.

Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study on patients getting admitted with clinical and radiological evidence of appendicitis. A total of 50 cases were studied during the period from 2016 to 2019. All the patients underwent open appendectomy through a mini incision measuring 2 to 2.5cm preferably under regional anaesthesia. The patients’ complete history, clinical profile, operative details, post-operative status, length of hospital stay, condition during follow up were recorded.

Results: Out of 50 patients who underwent mini-incision appendectomy, 31 (62%) were male and 19 (38%) were female. 6 cases (12%) required an extension of the incision up to 3.5cm due to difficulty in delivering. Surgical site infection occurred in 3 patients (6%), which were treated conservatively. The average operative period was 28 minutes (20-45 minutes). All the patients had negligible post-operative pain. The condition during follow up was uneventful and the patients had very minimal scar.

Conclusions: The mini-incision appendectomy is thus a safe technique for performing open appendectomy with cosmetic advantage.

Keywords: Appendicitis, Appendectomy, Mini incision.

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Dr C. P. Mohan. M.S.

Department of General Surgery, Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Annamalai University,

Chidambaram – 608002, India