title: First steps of laparoscopic surgery in Lubumbashi: problems encountered and preliminary results.
abstract: For many reasons, laparoscopic surgery has been performed worldwide. Due to logistical constraints its first steps occurred in Lubumbashi only in 2008. The aim of this presentation was to report authors' ten-month experience of laparoscopic surgery at Lubumbashi Don Bosco Missionary Hospital (LDBMH): problems encountered and preliminary results. The study was a transsectional descriptive work with a convenient sampling. It only took in account patients with abdominal surgical condition who consented to undergo laparoscopic surgery and when logistical constraints of the procedure were found. Independent variables were patients' demographic parameters, staff, equipments and consumable. Dependent parameters included surgical abdominal diseases, intra-operative circumstances and postoperative short term mortality and morbidity. Between 1(st)April 2009 and 28(th) February 2010, 75 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery at the LDBMH making 1.5% of all abdominal surgical activities performed at this institution. The most performed procedure was appendicectomy for acute appendicitis (64%) followed by exploratory laparoscopy for various abdominal chronic pain (9.3%), adhesiolysis for repeated periods of subacute intestinal obstruction in previously laparotomised patients (9.3%), laparoscopic cholecystectomy for post acute cholecystitis on gall stone (5.3%) and partial colectomy for symptomatic redundant sigmoid colon (2.7%). There were 4% of conversion to laparotomy. Laparoscopic surgery consumed more time than laparotomy, mostly when dealing with appendicitis. However, postoperatively, patients did quite well. There was no death in this series. Nursing care was minimal with early discharge. These results are encouraging to pursue laparoscopic surgery with DRC Government and NGO's supports.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Lubumbashi Clinics, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo ; Center of Research and Development in Surgery, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, bAU2.
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Arung
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Lubumbashi Clinics, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dinganga
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Lubumbashi Clinics, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ngoie
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Lubumbashi Clinics, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Odimba
authors.affiliation: Center of Research and Development in Surgery, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, bAU2 ; Department of Abdominal Surgery and Transplantation, University Hospital of Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Detry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001062:Appendectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D061646:Operative Time
keywords: Laparoscopy surgery; Lubumbashi; adhesiolysis; appendicetomy; cholecystecomy