Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of laparoscopic pyloromyotomy (LP) compared to the open conventional right upper-quadrant approach for pyloromyotomy (RP), and the umbilical approach for pyloromyotomy (UP).
Methods:
Clinical records of 175 RP (1983-1994), 71 UP (1994-1997), and 98 LP (1997-2002) were evaluated retrospectively. Weight at birth, age and weight at surgery, blood base excess (BE) on admission, length of operation, complications, and post-operative length of stay were compared among the groups.
Results:
There were no significant differences in either age or weight among the three groups. The length of operation in the RP group was 29 ± 8 min, which was significantly shorter than that in the UP (40 ± 10 min) and LP (41 ± 14 min) groups. The average length of operation in LP for each surgeon decreased once the surgeon had performed more than 5 LPs. Length of stay was significantly shorter in LP (4.3 ± 1.1 days) than in RP (8.3 ± 4.0 days) and UP (8.7 ± 7.8 days). There were 9 complications in the UP, 4 in the LP, and 3 in the RP group.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that in addition to the obvious advantage of minimal cosmetic deformity, laparoscopic pyloromyotomy also offers the benefit of shortened hospital stay.
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