Does retrieval bag use during laparoscopic appendectomy reduce postoperative infection?

Abstract

Appendectomy is the most commonly performed emergency operation in the United States, with approximately 370,000 patients undergoing the procedure every year. Although laparoscopic appendectomy is associated with decreased complications when compared with open appendectomy, the risk for infectious complications, including surgical site infection, intra-abdominal abscess, and sepsis, remains a significant source of postoperative morbidity and health care cost. The goal of this study is to determine whether the appendix retrieval technique during laparoscopic appendectomy affects risk of infectious complications.