Appendectomy Health Article

Definition

Appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix. The appendix is a worm-shaped hollow pouch attached to the cecum, the beginning of the large intestine.

Purpose

Appendectomies are performed to treat appendicitis, an inflamed and infected appendix.

Precautions

Since appendicitis occurs most commonly in males between the ages of 10-14 and in females between the ages of 15-19, appendectomy is most often performed during this time. The diagnosis of appendicitis is most difficult in the very young (less than two years of age) and in the elderly.

Description

Appendectomy is considered a major surgical operation. Therefore, a general surgeon must perform this operation in the operating room of a hospital. An anesthesiologist is also present during the operation to administer an anesthetic. Most often the anesthesiologist uses a general anesthetic technique whereby patients are put to sleep and made pain free by administering drugs in the vein or by agents inhaled through a tube placed in the windpipe. Occasionally a spinal anesthetic may be used.

After the patient is anesthetized, the general surgeon can remove the appendix either by using the traditional open procedure (in which a 2-3 [5-7.6 cm] in incision is made in the abdomen) or via laparoscopy (in which four 1 in [2.5 cm] incisions are made in the abdomen).

Traditional open appendectomy

When the surgeon uses the open approach, he makes an incision in the lower right section of the abdomen. Most incisions are less than 3 in (7.6 cm) in length. The surgeon then identifies all of the organs in the abdomen and examines them for other disease or abnormalities. The appendix is located and brought up into the wounds. The surgeon separates the appendix from all the surrounding tissue and its attachment to the cecum and then removes it. The site where the appendix was previously attached, the cecum, is closed and returned to the abdomen. The muscle layers and then the skin are sewn together.