Laparoscopy: a tool for undiagnosed pain abdomen

Authors

  • Arpit Sharma Department of Surgery, RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9911-9305
  • Deepak Sethi Department of Surgery, RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
  • Anjali Sethi Department of Surgery, Ananta Institute of Medical Sciences, Rajasthan, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-2902.isj20184087

Keywords:

Adhesiolysis, Diagnostic, Laparoscopy, Laparoscopic appendicectomy, Undiagnosed pain abdomen

Abstract

Background: Diagnostic laparoscopy has been in the armamentarium of the surgeon and gynaecologist for many years as a useful technique for evaluating pelvic pathology and it is now one of the most frequently performed laparoscopic procedures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of diagnostic laparoscopy in undiagnosed pain abdomen. The Objectives of this study is to evaluate laparoscopy as a diagnostic tool in cases of undiagnosed abdominal pain where clinical symptoms and investigations are not conclusive and to evaluate benefits and complications of diagnostic laparoscopy.

Methods: The study was done in 60 patients, presenting with chronic undiagnosed pain abdomen to a tertiary care hospital. All the patients were operated under general anesthesia in supine position. Diagnostic laparoscopy was done using 3 ports, one umbilical 10 mm, other two depending upon possible pathology. After the study, the data was analyzed to evaluate the role of laparoscopy in undiagnosed abdominal pain.

Results: Out of 60 patients, 44 were female and 16 males. On diagnostic laparoscopy, findings were- chronic appendicitis - 31, chronic appendicitis with left ovarian cyst - 1, endometriosis with adhesions - 3, PID - 5, PID with adhesions - 3, suspected TB (GI/Genital) - 4, adhesions - 12, negative diagnostic lap - 1. So it may be concluded that diagnostic laparoscopy is a very useful tool to establish diagnosis in patients with undiagnosed abdominal pain with the following benefits are, superior diagnostic ability, better visualization of the abdominal cavity including the paracolic gutters and the pelvis, able to pin point the sites of adhesions with adhesiolysis during the same procedure, retrieval of specimen for histopathological examination, management of the pathology during the same procedure, avoiding unnecessary laparotomy, low complication rate.

Conclusions: Laparoscopy is an efficient tool in the armamentarium of the surgeon to diagnose the patients of undiagnosed pain abdomen with numerous benefits and minimal complications.

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Published

2018-09-25

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Original Research Articles