PYLOROMYOTOMY - COMPARISON BETWEEN LAPAROSCOPIC AND OPEN SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

Several reports have appeared in the literature recently describing va rious techniques of performing pyloromyotomy laparoscopically. Althoug h there is no doubt that this is now technically feasible, there are u nanswered questions with regard to its safety, efficacy, and potential benefits or otherwise to the patient. In an attempt to resolve some o f these issues, we compared the results in 37 infants who underwent op en pyloromyotomy with 26 who underwent laparoscopic pyloromyotomy. The two groups were similar in terms of sex; age, weight, and presenting pH, although they could not be randomized. The time from feeding to di scharge was less for the laparoscopic group (1.4 days) compared with t he open group (1.8 days) (p = 0.04). Postoperative vomiting was not si gnificantly different between the two groups. The operating time was i dentical for groups, 29 min vs 27 min. There were 3 complications in t he open surgical group and 1 in the laparoscopic group. On the criteri a measured, our results suggests that laparoscopic pyloromyotomy is at least as good as conventional surgery, and offers the potential benef its of shortened hospital stay and minimal cosmetic deformity.