Sumairanawaz Syed
Appendicectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed. Published literature shows that laparoscopic appendicectomy is a safe procedure. A 35 year old female came to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain for the past few hours. History and examination revealed a classical case of acute appendicitis. The patient underwent laparoscopic appendicectomy the same night. Immediate post operative period was uneventful and she was discharged. But one day after her discharge she returned with vomiting, abdominal pain, swelling and tightness in the abdominal wall. Investigations revealed necrotising fasciitis and pericarditis. This case report shows that Laparoscopic appendicectomy can lead to unusual complications such as necrotising fascitis and pericarditis which cause significant postoperative morbidity. Therefore it can be concluded that it would be useful to use prophylactic antibiotics routinely preoperatively in cases of seemingly uncomplicated appendicitis to prevent infections like necrotising fascitis. It would also be beneficial to do preoperative ECG in all patients of suspected appendicitis so as to get a baseline ECG in persons with no known comorbidities.