Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery appendectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic appendectomy via the three-trocar technique is widely used for appendectomy. This report describes the initial experience with laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) appendectomy.

Methods: Between December 2008 and March 2009, patients with acute appendicitis admitted to the General Surgery and Emergency Unit of the authors' institution who agreed to undergo LESS appendectomy were included in a prospective study. All operations were performed by the same surgical team specially trained in this type of emergency surgery. The umbilicus was the sole point of entry for all patients, and the same operative technique was used in all cases. The data for patients undergoing LESS appendectomy were compared with the data from an uncontrolled group of patients undergoing standard laparoscopic appendectomy during the same study period.

Results: The LESS and standard appendectomy groups included 15 patients each. The LESS procedure was performed successfully for all the patients, and none required conversion to an open procedure or a conventional laparoscopic appendectomy by the addition of more entry ports. The mean operating time of 51 min in the LESS group was not significantly different from the 46 min in the standard laparoscopic appendectomy group.

Conclusions: In this study, LESS appendectomy was technically feasible and safe, representing a reproducible alternative to standard laparoscopic appendectomy.