What is Appendicitis?
• Appendix is a narrow, hollow muscular tube present near the junction of the small and large intestine. It has no significant function in human beings.
• Appendicitis is the inflammation of appendix (infection or swelling). The term acute Appendicitis means sudden development of the inflammatory process.
• It is most commonly seen in the second decade of life (adolescence), though it can occur in any age group.
• In almost 80% of cases of acute appendicitis are caused due to obstruction of lumen of appendix. The reason of obstruction could be a faecolith (i.e. hard faecal matter), worms if present in the intestines and rarely a foreign body like seeds.
Signs & Symptoms of Appendicitis
• Severe pain around the navel which shifts after few hours to the right lower abdomen. Coughing and straining cause an increase in the pain. Pain is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Less common complaints include burning on passing urine and loose stools.
• The clinical signs and symptoms as mentioned above are the most important indications for reaching a diagnosis. In addition, raised total blood count confirms the diagnosis.
• Acute appendicitis is the commonest abdominal emergency and requires surgery.
Laparoscopic Appendix Surgery
• An abdomen ultrasound may help in reaching the diagnosis in case the clinical examination and other investigations are inconclusive.
• The treatment of acute appendicitis is removal of the appendix (i.e. Appendicectomy). This can be done by an open technique or laparoscopically.
• Laparoscopic appendicectomy is performed by making three tiny (3-5-10 mm) incisions through which the telescope and instruments are introduced and the appendix is removed.
• The advantage of laparoscopy over open technique is less pain, early recovery and excellent cosmetic results. Also, laparoscopically the entire abdomen and pelvis can be inspected to rule out any other pathology.
Pre & Post Surgery Instructions
• Any pre-op instructions that are to be given to you by your surgeon vary as per your specific case.
• After the operation you will be kept in the recovery room. This period may vary from few minutes to few hours. The anaesthetist decides about your shifting to room. The decision depends on many technical factors.
• You may feel nauseated in the immediate post-operative period, and you may even vomit which should not cause any worry. This generally gets over after few hours.
• You are generally allowed to have sips of water couple of Hours after the operation depending upon the inflammation and whether the procedure was elective or emergency and liquids on day of operation. In case of vomiting the liquid intake may be stopped and restarted after 30 minutes. The liquids may include water / cold drinks / tea / coffee / milk / juices or some clear soups.
• You are allowed to have soft diet of your choice from the next morning at breakfast. And it is important that to prevent feeling bloated you should have small frequent meals for some days.
• You should try to move the limbs and can sit up immediately after operation. You should also go to the toilet on your own.
• You will be discharged on the same day or next day of operation unless there is some associated medical/social problems.
• You are advised to visit again for follow up after 2-5 days when the dressings are removed. You should avoid wetting the dressings unless they are waterproof. After the removal of dressing, you can have normal bath with soap and water.
• In very few cases there may be some bloody/whitish discharge from the wound in the post operative period. This should not bother you because it is generally harmless. You can wipe the discharge and apply band-aid so as to avoid staining the clothes. If it is more you should report to the surgeon during the next visit.
• You could mail your query at info@curisglobal.com for an estimate and evaluation by the Surgeon
Cost of Appendicitis Surgery
Cost of Laparoscopic Appendectomy or open appendicitis surgery depends on the condition of the patient and thus the cost of the appendix surgery differs greatly from patient to patient.
You could mail your query at info@curisglobal.com for an estimate and evaluation by the Surgeon