Your appendix can develop appendicitis when it gets inflamed, most frequently as a result of a blockage. It could be acute or ongoing.
Symptoms :
In the early stages of appendicitis, you may have light abdominal cramping that gradually spreads to your lower right abdominal quadrant.
- minimal fever
- begins abruptly
- worsens when you cough or move
- nausea
- is so strong it wakes you up from sleep
- vomiting
- reduced appetite
- abdominal enlargement
- indigestion
- within a few hours becomes worse
Causes :
Multiple factors can contribute to appendicitis. The root cause is frequently unclear. Potential factors include :
- inflammation of the colon
- growths or hardened faeces that may obstruct the appendix opening
- When the appendix is blocked—often by faeces, a foreign object, or cancer—appendicitis develops.
- An infection in your digestive tract or another part of your body is the source of the swollen tissue in the wall of your appendix.
- Since the appendix can expand in response to any infection in the body, blockage may also develop from infection.
Treatment :
Surgery to remove the inflamed appendix is typically part of the therapy for appendicitis. You might receive an antibiotic dose before to surgery to treat an infection.
Appendectomy -
A single abdominal incision measuring between 2 and 4 inches (5 and 10 cm) long can be used to perform an appendectomy as an open procedure (laparotomy). Alternatively, a few tiny abdominal incisions could be used to perform the procedure (laparoscopic surgery). The appendix is removed during a laparoscopic appendectomy by the surgeon using specialised surgical instruments and a camera inserted into your abdomen.
Laparoscopic surgery, in general, enables you to heal more quickly and with fewer pain and scars. For older adults and obese persons, it might be better.