health

1. What Is Appendicitis?
2. Who Gets Appendicitis?
3. What Happens to People with Appendicitis?
   David’s Story

APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS
APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS
APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS
APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS
APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS
APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS
APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS APPENDICITIS

Appendicitis (ap-pen-di-SY-tis) is the inflammation of the appendix
(ap-PEN-dix), which is a small organ that branches off the large intestine.
The inflammation usually begins abruptly, causes a characteristic rightsided
abdominal pain, and may lead to rupture or bursting of the appendix,
and to severe illness.

Acute* appendicitis occurs when the appendix becomes inflamed. An
inflamed appendix must be removed so that it does not rupture (break)
and spread the infection to the rest of the abdomen, a condition known
as peritonitis*. The appendix has no known function, and its removal has
no adverse effect on the body.
In most cases, acute appendicitis begins with an obstruction of the
appendix’s interior cavity, known as the lumen. The appendix is a narrow,
finger-shaped tube, usually three to six inches (7.6–15.2 cm) long, that
branches off the large intestine into the lower right side of the abdomen*.
It is also known as the vermiform appendix. Vermiform means wormshaped.
The appendix may become blocked for many reasons. Often,
feces obstructs the appendix, but in some cases, a bacterial or viral infection
may cause lymph nodes to swell—called lymphoid hyperplasia—and
obstruct the appendix. The blockage leads to inflammation. Appendicitis
is typically treated with an appendectomy (ap-pen-DEK-to-mee), which
is the surgical removal of the appendix. If appendicitis is left untreated, it
can be fatal, but it is rare for anyone not to receive treatment in time.
Some people experience off-and-on abdominal pain, a condition that
may be identified as chronic appendicitis. Often, the cause of the intermittent
pain is a prolonged, partial obstruction of the appendix. Some
patients are able to live with the recurrent bouts, but most only experience
full relief from symptoms following appendectomy.

Appendicitis is not preventable. Each year in the United States, it affects
about one in 500 people. Anyone can develop appendicitis, but it is most
common in young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and it affects
boys more often than girls. In all, about 7 percent of the population typically
has appendicitis sometime during their lifetime.

David’s appendicitis happened suddenly, when he awoke at 1 a.m. with a
terrible bellyache. He blamed it on the chips and ice cream he had eaten
after dinner and tried to go back to sleep. By 7 a.m., his bellyache was
worse, he was not hungry, and he felt very hot. He told his parents about
the intense pain in his right side, and they took him to see the doctor
immediately. A series of events followed rapidly.

March 2, 10 a.m. The doctor asked David numerous questions about
the pain: Is it constant? Does the right side hurt the most? Is the pain
worse when you move, cough, or take a deep breath? Are you nauseated?
David said yes to all of them. His abdomen felt hard when the doctor
touched it, and when the doctor pushed on the right lower part, David
yelled. A nurse took David’s temperature and a blood sample.

March 2, noon David’s blood test showed more white blood cells than
usual, which is one of the signs of inflammation. The boy’s other symptoms
of fever and abdominal pain led the doctor to diagnose appendicitis
and to advise David’s parents to check him into the hospital.

March 2, 8 p.m. David had been at the hospital for several hours, during
which the nurses continued monitoring his condition. The pain did not
go away and started to get worse. The doctor decided that David should
be taken to the operating room right away to have an appendectomy. To
prepare the patient for the surgery, the doctor explained anesthesia* and
showed David where the surgeon would make a small cut in his abdomen
to remove the diseased appendix. The doctor and nurses repeatedly
reassured David and his parents that this was a common surgery.

March 2, 10 p.m. David awoke in the hospital recovery room, groggy,
tired, and a little sore. His appendix, which had not yet ruptured, had
been removed.

March 4, 8 a.m. David went home from the hospital, minus his
appendix and with a slight soreness at the site of his appendectomy scar,
but otherwise healthy.
Within several weeks, David was back to doing just about everything
he had done before his bout with appendicitis. His appendectomy surgery
had been a complete success.