Reduced incidence of early complications of surgical

Wound-related complications are major sources of trouble in post-operativeperiod and slow down the wound healing process. This study was performed to determinethe incidence of early wound related complications in laparoscopic versus open abdominalsurgeries. Medical records of 104 elective laparoscopic (A) and 106 diagnosis matchedopen surgeries (B) including appendectomy, cholecystectomy, ventral hernia repair, andbariatric surgery were retrospectively reviewed between Jun 2002 and Jan 2005. Studydata included patients’ sex, age, wound class, type of operation, and occurrence of earlywound related complications. Surgical wounds were evaluated for presence of early complicationsduring the post-op period and 10 to 15 days after the operation. The two groups were not different regarding age, sex and wound classes. Woundinfection developed in 7 patients [RR: 0.06 (0.01-0.77) (95%CI)] and none in patients ofgroup B. Incidence of Hematoma was similar in the two groups; one case in each. No patientsin the two groups experienced seruma nor wound dehiscence. Gender, age, andwound classes were not associated with higher rates of wound complications. Laparoscopic surgery significantly reduced the incidence of early wound complications,namely wound infection, and is a safe and efficient alternative to conventionalopen procedures.