Hospitalization costs of open vs. laparoscopic appendectomy: 5-year experience.

Background: There is an ongoing debate over certain aspects of laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) over open appendectomy (OA) in regard to hospitalization costs and associated complications.

Methods: A database was used to obtain the charts for either LA or OA performed during a 5-year period. Variables analyzed were age, gender, hospitalization cost, length of stay and complications.