Appendectomy starts with the performing of an incision 4-7 centimetres of length from the skin to the appendicle area. By this incision, the appendix is searched for, in the lower right side abdominal area and in absence of other complications, is removed and detached from the colon, then the hole in the large intestine is sealed. In case of abscess, tubes made of rubber called drains will remove the pus and take it out through the skin. The last step is the closing of the incision.
Laparoscopy is a new procedure that gains more and more frequency although general anaesthesia is necessary, because it allows the doctor to see the inner abdomen by means of a very small incision. If appendicitis is found, special medical tools are inserted into the abdomen. This procedure gained popularity because it is less painful and a smaller amount of time is necessary for recovery, but also due to the fact that it gives a certitude regarding diagnosis and can also identify other conditions miming appendicitis.
Except for serious cases with appendix rupture involved, the patient is kept in the hospital for only one or two days. But in the first case, they remain in the hospital under close observation for a week, especially in case of peritonitis and administered antibiotics intravenously to eradicate the infection.
Even if the appendix has a normal look and structure, it still needs to be removed by the doctors, because they cannot ignore the possibility of further inflammation and eventual complication, so it is safer to take out a healthy appendix than to allow a possible problem to persist.
Complications
The causes of appendicitis are not certain. In some cases it can be determined by residual food or a piece of stool blocked inside the appendix. Other causes of this condition can be inflammations of any kind or infections caused by bacterial invasion, which fills the appendix with pus, situation in which rupture may appear.
Peritonitis is the most severe complication generated by appendicitis and represents an emergency. Even if it is discovered and treated immediately, it still remains a very serious problem in some cases. This disease consists in infecting the lining of your abdominal cavity, following appendix perforation, and spilling the infectious organisms it contains into your peritoneal cavity. The first sensation that follows this rupture is of pain relief, but immediately replaced by full abdominal area pain, caused by fluids and gases. It is possible in case of peritonitis for the pain not to locate in the appendicle area but a bowl or the inability to release gas accompanied by fever, the sensation of thirst and a smaller amount of urine should immediately alarm you.
More exposed to the risk of appendix rupture than the adults, are the children, whose symptoms are often untypical causing a delay of diagnosis and treatment so that pain in the abdominal area should be taken very seriously. Medical advice is recommended.
A collection of the infection which forms an abscess of the appendix varying in size can be very dangerous if not removed in time, because the rupture of such abscess generates in most of the cases peritonitis.
By: Sebastian Bunten -