Appendicitis - Unusual Complications.

[joko]

This happened 30+ years ago so im just curious about it

i had appenndicitis at 11.
i went to the hospital and was left lying in a bed almost all day until my op next morning.
it hurt a lot, but i was just lying there, quietly dealing with it, not crying or moaning.

However, when they opened me up they said it was twisted, all sticky, and in the wrong place - sort of twisted around the back - a lot more complicated than theyd expected.
i dont know why it was 'sticky' or what it was sticky with - as it hadnt burst.

as i result i have a scar 2-3 times the usual length with a dent where a drainage tube had to be inserted.

they were doubly stunned by this as it was clearly urgent - they think it would not have been long before it burst

but also because i was a child who was not screaming the place down, and they'd assumed it wasn't as bad as it turned out to be

they believed that in that state, i should have been in sheer unbearable agony.

I was in the hospital for a week afterward and although it hurt i dont remember being especially 'ill' with - i remember playing with the other kids a lot.

so just curious really - is this a common situation to find an appendix in?
it was a long time and my mum cant remember much else, i dont think they told her that much - just what ive said here.

but i cant find anything about complications online - they all just warn of it bursting and peritonitis.

ive never heard of this from anyone else - all the scars ive seen are pretty normal & standard too.

any ideas? is there a name for this?

thanks :)

[Sqad]

This is not an uncommon situation.

It is "sticky" because it is inflamed and stuck to the surrounding structure and a common situation for the surgeon to "unstick" it before removing it.

The appendix is an organ attached to the small bowel by its base and the rest of the appendix can be in many positions.
Not to bother you with anatomical positions but one of the most difficult in diagnosis and removal is where the appendix is "hidden " behind the large bowel and may lie as high as the liver (retrocaecal) which makes diagnosis and removal a nightmare.
Unfortunately this situation isn't discovered until the patient is opened up and the incision widened to gain access to the appendix.
Also diagnosis may be difficult in such situations as to why your operation was delayed.
It could have been.....a big deal....a very big deal.

All's well that ends well.

[joko]

thanks, yes they apparently were glad they left it no later to do the op, it seems it was pretty bad and on the verge of getting much much worse.
i cant understand why i wasnt crying & screaming.

i have various health issues & have a fairly high tolerance to pain, but i was still a kid - and i wasnt even crying, i dont think, (at least not much) just lying there suffering it.
they probably gave me pain killers, but even so.

i dont know why they brought me in then just left me lying on the bed for all that time - perhaps there was some problem with another patient that caused a delayed and as i seemed 'ok' they chose mine to delay.

[Sqad]

Joko....I thought i had explained the delay, in my post in that the appendix was well covered and cosseted by its position which reduced the pain and made you a diagnostic problem.

[eve1974]

MAde me think of my own appendectomy. My pain was felt in my shoulder.
Not anywhere in my abdomen.

I was akid so I can't recall much of what the doc said but I think he mentioned the appendix was back to front....or something?

[Peter Pedant]

1990 -
I thought of mal rotation - but forget that
retro caecal - (sqad) fits the bill

There were no emergency lists then - so the juniors were doing it without supervision even tho it was known at that time the results were inferior. And there were some astoundingly experienced middle aged registrars a moiling and a toiling at night.

A child, you would expect to get up and jump around the next day - and a week in bed is long.

If the incision doesnt have an angle in it - then it looks as tho they expected problems straight off ( so didnt have to extend the incision as it was adequate at kick off)

drain:
In an open procedure, we will make a cut in the lower right hand side or middle of your tummy, where we can locate and remove your appendix. If you have developed an abscess on your appendix, this will also be drained and washed away, and you may have a small drain tube left in for a few days after your surgery.

[Peter Pedant]

ever 1984 - referred pain
a fella called cope wrote a BOOK on appendixes
and covers it

Amazon.com User Recommendation?asin=0199730458&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1

first ed 1948 I think

dying from an appendix is incredibly rare
There has been a dramatic reduction in the mortality rate attributed to acute appendicitis over the past 50 years from nearly 26% to less than 1%. However, the morbidity rate, which has heavily impacted health care costs, has not experienced a similar drop.

26% strikes me as far too high - the only ones who die are the over-60 with appendicitis ( infection, clotting blah blah the usual)