Appendectomy Should Be Performed During Minimally Invasive Surgery for Endometriosis

The appendix in endometriosis

BACKGROUND

In the most severe stage of endometriosis, Stage IV, intestinal involvement is common. The true prevalence of endometriotic disease of the appendix in this population is not well described. A macroscopically normal looking appendix may harbour endometriosis.

AIMS

Our study aims to assess the role of routinely performing appendicectomy in Stage IV endometriosis surgery, and the histopathological prevalence of true appendiceal endometriosis in this population.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of women undergoing surgery for Stage IV endometriosis between 2018 to 2022 in a tertiary public hospital in New South Wales, Australia. Patient demographics, age and post-operative complications were retrospectively retrieved from hospital medical records. Inclusion criteria were women with Stage IV endometriosis who underwent routine appendicectomy as part of their endometriosis surgery. Exclusion criteria were women who did not have Stage IV endometriosis, those who had cancer surgery or emergency surgery for endometriosis. The primary outcome of this study was to determine the incidence of appendiceal endometriosis. Secondary outcomes included post-operative complications and length of stay.

RESULTS

Sixty-seven patients were included. The mean age was 36 years. All patients also underwent bowel resection for colorectal endometriosis. There were 35.8% who had confirmed appendiceal endometriosis on histopathology. Post-operative complications included port site infections, colitis, urinary tract infection and ureteric injury. There were no complications related to appendicectomy. Mean length of stay was 4.4 days.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic appendicectomy can be safely performed at time of laparoscopic surgical excision of Stage IV endometriosis and should be routinely considered in a subset of Stage IV endometriosis patients with colorectal involvement undergoing surgery.

Appendectomy in endometriosis: an update on surgical indications and management of uncommon diseases

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Abnormal appendiceal disease is commonly encountered following an appendectomy when performed in patients with endometriosis. Appendiceal endometriosis is the most notable finding and can affect up to 39% of patients with endometriosis. Despite this knowledge, guidelines for performing an appendectomy have not been formally established. In this article, we review the surgical indications for an appendectomy at the time of endometriosis surgery and discuss the management of other diseases that may be encountered following the histopathologic evaluation of an excised appendix.

RECENT FINDINGS

Removal of the appendix in patients with endometriosis contributes to optimal surgical management. Relying on abnormal appendiceal appearance for removal may leave endometriosis-affected appendices. For this reason, utilizing risk factors to guide surgical management is essential. Common appendiceal diseases are sufficiently managed with appendectomy. Uncommon diseases may require further surveillance.

SUMMARY

Emerging data in our field support the performance of an appendectomy at the time of endometriosis surgery. Guidelines for performing a concurrent appendectomy should be formalized to encourage preoperative counselling and management for patients with risk factors for appendiceal endometriosis. Abnormal diseases is frequently encountered after appendectomy in the setting of endometriosis surgery and further management is based on the histopathology of the specimen.

Appendiceal Endometriosis: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Objective: the purpose of this review was to evaluate the prevalence of appendiceal endometriosis and the safety of concomitant appendectomy in women with endometriosis or pelvic pain. Materials and Methods: We searched the electronic databases Medline (PubMed), Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science (WOS). The search was not subject to any limitation in terms of time or method. The primary research question was: what is the prevalence of appendiceal endometriosis? The secondary research question was: is it safe to perform appendectomy during surgery for endometriosis? Publications that reported data about appendiceal endometriosis or appendectomy in women with endometriosis were reviewed regarding the inclusion criteria. Results: We found 1418 records. After review and screening, we included 75 studies published between 1975 and 2021. With regard to the first question of the review, we found 65 eligible studies and divided these into the following two categories: (a) endometriosis of the appendix presenting as acute appendicitis, and (b) endometriosis of the appendix as an incidental finding in gynecological surgery. Forty-four case reports described appendiceal endometriosis in women who were admitted for the treatment of pain in the right-sided lower abdomen. Endometriosis of the appendix was observed in 2.67% (range, 0.36-23%) of women who were admitted due to acute appendicitis. In addition, appendiceal endometriosis was an incidental finding during gynecological surgery in 7.23% of cases (range, 1-44.3%). With regard to the second question of the review, which was the safety of appendectomy in women with endometriosis or pelvic pain, we found 11 eligible studies. Reviewed cases had no significant intraoperative or follow-up complications during the 12 weeks. Conclusion: Based on the reviewed studies, coincidental appendectomy appears reasonably safe and was associated with no complications in the cases reviewed for the present report.

Postoperative Complications of Appendectomy in Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery for Benign Indications

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether concomitant appendectomy in patients who undergo laparoscopic surgery for benign gynecologic indications is associated with increased rates of complications in the 30-day postoperative period.

METHODS

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was used to identify patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery by a gynecologist. Patients were excluded if they underwent open abdominal surgeries, bowel resections, urogynecologic surgeries, or if diagnoses of cancer or appendicitis were present. There were 246,987 patients included in the population cohort from 2010 to 2020. Demographic information and postoperative outcomes of patients who underwent concomitant appendectomy were compared with patients who did not undergo appendectomy. A matched cohort was created by computing propensity scores, and outcomes were again compared between groups. All patients undergoing appendectomy were 1:1 matched to a unique patient who did not undergo appendectomy using a greedy matching based on the propensity score calculated from demographic and surgical characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 1,760 patients (0.7%) underwent concomitant appendectomy. There was an 8.0% complication rate in the appendectomy group, compared with 5.5% in the group of those without appendectomy ( P <.001), and this was similar to the results in the propensity-matched sample. Patients who underwent appendectomy had significantly higher rates of readmission (4.3% vs 2.3%), which remained significant in the propensity-matched sample. There were no differences in the rates of postoperative thromboembolic events, blood transfusion, or reoperation.

CONCLUSION

Patients who are undergoing concomitant appendectomy have an increased risk of any complication and hospital readmission. Additional studies may be conducted to identify patients with optimal risk benefit profiles when considering performing concomitant appendectomy at time of gynecologic surgery.