Are Only A Few Hours Adequate For Hospitalization Following Mini-Incision Open Appendectomy In Pediatric Patients?

Purpose: - A very short hospital length of stay following an open appendectomy in children with acute simple appendicitis has never been mentioned yet in literature. The authors reviewed the outcome of these pediatric patients who were treated with the open technique. Methods: -We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the 115 consecutive patients who underwent open appendectomy from June 2017 to July 2021. Results: - There were 84 patients whose appendices were inflammatory or suppurative and appendectomies were done only through McBurney’s point. Of these, the average age was 9.11 ± 2.67 years. The mean length of the incision was 1.95 ± 0.48 centimeters. Nearly one-third (25/85) could be discharged with 3 hours following surgery. Of the remaining cases, 9 patients were discharged within the same day. Conclusion: - There were increased percentages of patients who were eligible for our criteria in each year. The confidence of both parents and the therapeutic team on this concept is of paramount importance affecting a shift of paradigm of this treatment of this very common surgical condition.