An interventional study of Open Appendectomy and Laparoscopic Appendectomy in Acute Appendicitis, Appendicitis (Diagnosis) and Obesity, sponsored by University of Health Sciences Lahore. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 15 Years to 50 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-16.
Sponsored by University of Health Sciences Lahore · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies globally. While surgical removal of the appendix (appendectomy) is the definitive treatment, the optimal surgical approach-laparoscopic versus open-remains widely debated, particularly in obese patients. Obese individuals present unique surgical challenges due to increased abdominal wall thickness, which often necessitates larger skin incisions during open procedures, potentially increasing postoperative pain, wound healing times, and wound complications.
This study aims to compare the postoperative outcomes of laparoscopic appendectomy versus standard open appendectomy in obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) presenting with acute appendicitis. Participants will be randomly assigned to undergo either open appendectomy or laparoscopic appendectomy. The primary outcomes evaluated will be the incidence of surgical site infections (including superficial wound infections and intra-abdominal abscesses) up to 30 days post-procedure and the total length of hospital stay (in days).
419 studies on the registry are indexed under Appendicitis; 67 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 166 is above the median of 111 across 252 interventional studies indexed under Appendicitis.
Browse Appendicitis studies →University of Health Sciences Lahore is the lead sponsor of 83 studies on the registry; 52 are open to participants now.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants undergo open appendectomy using a standard grid-iron incision under general anesthesia. Appendiceal base ligation and closure are performed in standard anatomical layers.
Procedure: Open Appendectomy
Participants undergo laparoscopic appendectomy using a standard 3-port technique (umbilical, left iliac fossa, and lower midline ports) under general anesthesia.
Procedure: Laparoscopic Appendectomy
Open surgical removal of the appendix performed via a standard grid-iron incision under general anesthesia with standard prophylactic antibiotics.
Laparoscopic surgical removal of the appendix using a standard 3-port configuration (umbilical, left iliac fossa, and lower midline ports) under general anesthesia with standard prophylactic antibiotics.
Incidence of Surgical Site Infection (SSI)
Proportion of patients who develop a surgical site infection, defined as either superficial/deep wound infection (presence of purulent discharge, erythema, localized swelling, or requiring reopening) or intra-abdominal abscess (confirmed via ultrasound in patients presenting with abdominal pain, fever, or fullness)
Time frame: Up to 30 days postoperatively
Length of Hospital Stay
The total number of days the patient remained in the hospital postoperatively until meeting discharge criteria (afebrile, tolerating a regular diet, and achieving good pain control).
Time frame: From day of surgery up to discharge (up to 30 days postoperatively)
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Health Sciences Lahore