A Randomised Controlled Trial on LESS Versus Conventional Laparoscopic Appendicectomy.
A Randomised Controlled Trial on LESS Versus Conventional Laparoscopic Appendicectomy.
LESS laparoscopic appendectomy is associated with less pain than conventional 3-port
 laparoscopic appendectomy.
Since the original description in the 1970's, the laparoscopic approach to management of
 surgical diseases has gained widespread acceptance. It has been shown to be associated with
 decreased wound pain, analgesic requirements, hospital stay and allows improved cosmesis and
 quality of life without significantly increasing the risks of morbidities and mortalities.
 With continued improvements in technology, however, efforts to reduce the number of abdomen
 wounds in an attempt to further decrease pain, improve cosmesis and outcomes are underway.
 Natural Orifices Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) has received widespread attention in
 both the medical field as well as the general public. However, there are still a multitude of
 problems that needs to be solved before the technique can be broadly applied to human
 subjects [7]. On the other hand, a renewed interest in single incision laparoscopic surgeries
 is emerging. The approach has been shown to be safe and feasible in our experience as well as
 the others. It also has the potential to further decrease the surgical trauma induced to the
 patient and to improve cosmesis.

 Since laparoscopic appendicectomy is one of the most basic procedures in laparoscopic
 surgery, it is an appropriate model for initial evaluation of single incision laparoscopic
 surgery. Our unit has already performed 20 cases of single site access laparoscopic
 appendicectomy (SSALA) and so far, the results have been encouraging (data pending
 publication). All the patients in the series had their procedures completed with a single
 incision. None of the patients suffered from adverse events and all had resumption of oral
 diet by day 1 and were discharged on day 2 post-operatively. However, whether the approach is
 more beneficial as compared to conventional three-port laparoscopic appendicectomy is still
 uncertain.

 Hence, the aim of the current study is to compare the approach of SSALA to conventional
 three-port laparoscopic appendicectomy in reducing surgical trauma and improving cosmesis to
 the patient.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  History of right lower quadrant pain or periumbilical pain migrating to the right
 lower quadrant

 -  Fever ≥ 38°C and/or WCC > 10 X 103 cells per mL,

 -  Right lower quadrant guarding, and tenderness on physical examination.

 -  All patients included were 18-75 years old.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients are excluded if the diagnosis of appendicitis is not clinically established
 (symptoms attributable to urinary or gynaecological problems).

 -  History of symptoms > 5 days and/or a palpable mass in the right lower quadrant,
 suggesting an appendiceal abscess treated with antibiotics and possible percutaneous
 drainage.

 -  Patients with the following conditions are also excluded: history of cirrhosis and
 coagulation disorders, generalized peritonitis, shock on admission, previous abdominal
 surgery, ascites, suspected or proven malignancy, contraindication to general
 anesthesia (severe cardiac and/or pulmonary disease), inability to give informed
 consent due to mental disability, and pregnancy.