Comparison of hand-made extracorporeal knotting and Hem-o-lok clip in laparoscopic appendectomy

Purpose: This study aims to compare the extracorporeal knotting technique and the Hem-o-lok clip technique among patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective evaluation of prospectively acquired data from patients in a single-center setting. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1 was hand-made extracorporeal knotting group and group 2 was Hem-o-lok clip group. A total of 150 patients were included in the study. 81 patients were in Group 1 and 69 patients were in Group 2. Results: No significant difference was found between demographic characteristics and clinical features for two groups. The incidence of surgical site infection was similar between the two groups (Grup 1: %3.7, Grup 2: %5.8). Postoperative complications were seen in 2 patients (2.9%) in the Hem-o-lok group and 3 patients (3.7%) in the extracorporeal knotting group. The mean operation time was group 1 54.2±7.9 minutes, group 2 52.3±10.7 minutes. The mean hospital stay of the patients was 1.2±0.7 days in group 2 and 1.3±0.8 days in the grouıp 1. The cost analysis revealed that the Hem-o-lok technique was more expensive than the hand-made extracorporeal knotting method. Conclusion: Both hand-made extracorporeal knotting and Hem-o-lok clips are effective and safe methods for closing the appendix stump in laparoscopic appendectomy.