LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY IN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY

Background. A randomized, prospective clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of laparoscopic treatment versus conventional con servative abdominal surgery for tubal pregnancy. Methods. Patients wer e stratified for age and risk determinants for ectopic pregnancy (EP). Forty-eight patients were treated by laparoscopy and 57 by laparotomy . Entry criteria were: size of the ectopic gestation <4 cm, hemodynami c stability, accessibility for laparoscopic treatment and a trained la paroscopist on duty. Results. There was no difference between the grou ps regarding gestational duration, size and location of the ectopic ge station, and the mean preoperative hCG values. The groups did differ w ith respect to total operation time (73 min in the laparoscopy group v s. 88 min in the laparotomy group), hospital stay (2.2 days vs. 5.4 da ys) and convalescence perio (11 days vs. 24 days). The rates of elimin ation of hCG were similar in the two groups, and there was no statisti cal difference in the rate of second intervention. Conclusions. Patien ts treated by laparoscopy had a shorter hospital stay and a shorter co nvalescence than patients from the laparotomy group.