A Effectiveness Case Report of Laparoscopic Appendectomy for Ultra Thickness Abdominal Wall Athlete

Ken Hagiwara, Minoru Matsuda, Motoo Yamagata, Masahito Igarashi, Shigeoki Hayashi, Keio Sou, Masashi Fujii and Tadatoshi Takayama

Department of Digestive Surgery, Nihon University School of Medicine

We report laparoscopic appendectomy in an athlete with an ultrathick abdominal wall. A 19-year-old male athlete hospitalized for abdominal pain, excessive bodyweight, and a body mass index of 52.1 despite being 164 cm tall and weighing 140 kg was suspected from physical examination and computed tomography to have gangrenous appendicitis with local peritonitis. We chose laparoscopic appendectomy to minimize the surgical incision size and effects on his athletic career. Operative findings showed a swollen perforated appendix with a large amount of pus throughout the abdominal cavity. We conducted lavage and drainage and finished surgery with only 4 trocar port sites. He has continued his career. We concluded that laparoscopic appendectomy is effective in athletes with ultrathick abdominal walls because of the minimal adverse effect on the abdominal wall and the athlete's career potential.

Key words
laparoscopic appendectomy, athlete, thick abdominal wall

Reprint requests
Ken Hagiwara Department of Surgery, Surugadai Nihon University Hospital
1-8-13 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku, 101-8309 Japan

Accepted
December 17, 2008

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