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Acute appendicitis is one of the most common urgent abdominal interventions. Open appendectomy has been a standard procedure for acute appendicitis for more than 100 years. However, in the last 20 years, after many studies, laparoscopic appendectomy has become a gold standard in solving acute appendicitis. The main goal of our study was to compare results of open and laparoscopic appendectomies with regard to in-hospital stay, time of operation, postoperative complications and postoperative pain. All patients underwent open or laparoscopic appendectomy in the Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Emergency Center of the University Clinical Center Niš, Serbia in the period of one year. A total of 126 patients were enrolled and submitted to retrospective analysis. One hundred and twenty-six patients who underwent laparoscopic or open appendectomy surgery were retrospectively analysed. A laparoscopic appendectomy was performed in 58 patients, while 68 patients underwent an open appendectomy. Groups were demographically similar and there was no significant difference between the age structure and gender distribution (t = 0.927; p = 0.057). Average height (p = 0.123), weight (p = 0.200) and BMI (p = 0.425) were mostly similar. Previous surgical operations were more common in patients with open appendectomy, but with no statistical significance (p = 0.141). Percentage of patients with WBC > 10 were the same in both groups (p = 0.927). Diabetes mellitus was more common in patients with open appendectomy, but with no statistical significance (p = 0.563). Acute and perforated appendicitis were similar in both groups (p = 0.490). Average time of operation was the same in both groups (p = 0.751). Number of days of in-hospital stay was shorter in patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy (p < 0.001). The analysis of administration of parenteral and oral analgesics showed that postoperative pain was less in the group of patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy than in the group of patients with open appendectomy. There was no statistically significant difference with respect to postoperative complications between two groups (p < 0.001). The treatment of appendicitis by using laparoscopic surgery in comparison to open approach provides a better result in terms of duration of hospital stay, recovering time, postoperative complications and postoperative pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Medica Medianae is the property of Acta Medica Medianae and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Medica Medianae is the property of Acta Medica Medianae and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Primary malignant melanoma of the anorectum is rare. It accounts for 0.2-0.3% of all malignant melanomas. Prognosis is very poor since majority of patients dies within first two years. We report a case of a 76 year-old man with anoretal melanoma. Digital rectal examination revealed a mass on the anterior wall. Biopsy report favored two possibilities, first, malignant melanoma and second, poorly differentiated carcinoma. Abdominal ultrasonography and chest X-ray did not show signs of distant metastasis. Computed tomography of abdomen and pelvis revealed presence of a large, irregular hypodense mass with heterogeneous enhancement in anal canal accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes. Abdomino-perineal resection was performed. Histopathological examination of resected specimen confirmed diagnosis of malignant melanoma. Postoperative course was uneventful. However, patient died one year after due to metastasis. Surgery is the mainstay of curative treatment of anorectal melanoma, effective systemic adjuvant therapy has been lacking. Long-term survival is rare, as most patients die of disseminated systemic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]