Appendix is
located inside of abdomen in the right side lower abdomen; very rarely in right
lower abdomen. It is a redundant portion of large intestine, a narrow calibered
tubular structure similar to intestine.
Inflammation
of appendix is termed as appendicitis.
- Pain in right side lower abdomen,
- Vomiting, 2 to 3 times after it; and
- Fever, 4 to 6 hours after pain; in that order are the classical symptoms of appendicitis.
Typically,
the pain starts around the umbilicus and shifts to right side of lower abdomen
and settles there; patient may feel difficult to walk, gets pain if coughs,
tries to remain still on the bed and not move about. Patient may experience
pain on pressure on the right lower abdomen, muscle tightness over the area;
and may even feel pain on the skin surface, if, a hand swept over it.
Vomiting
typically occurs for 2 to 3 times after the pain and usually stops after the
contents of stomach are vomited out.
Fever may
come with rigor and chill; may shoot up to 102 degree Fahrenheit.
The
appendicitis is notorious for its resemblance of its features with many other
diseases. Basically, the diagnosis of appendicitis is clinical and is fairly accurate.
In equivocal
cases the investigations such as ultrasonogram in experienced hands is
supportive, some cases also can not be confirmed in this investigation.
Computerized tomography (CT) may aid in diagnosing appendicitis. Recently,
multi detect computerized tomography has been seen to give less false positive
and false negative results, and can be relied to larger extent.
Still, all
these facilities are not available widely, and clinician has to rely on
available tools and on his clinical experience.
Image of Laparoscopic Appendicectomy
Image of Laparoscopic Appendicectomy
Laparoscopic
appendicectomy is a little better than the open procedure. However, it is again
not available in many places. In some suspected cases, after ruling out other common causes for such type of features, an appendicectomy can be done; that also relieves the symptoms.
...
Click here to Subscribe news feed from "Clinicianonnet; so that you do not miss out anything that can be valuable to you !!
...
Posts
