Appendices

Appendicitis is an acute or chronic inflammation of the appendix at the end of the appendix, popularly called appendicitis .

Usually appendicitis is accompanied by pain in the right lower abdomen. Due to the fact that the appendix can have different lengths and different positions due to its great mobility, the pain is sometimes not always very typical and it is very easy to misjudge acute appendicitis. On the other hand, there is a phenomenon in children that simulates acute appendicitis but is not. This disease is called lymphangiosis mesenterica. The lymph node swelling in the area of ​​the appendix, usually as an accompanying reaction in common respiratory infections (runny nose, cough, etc.) can be so deceptively similar to acute appendicitis that only an ultrasound diagnosis can provide information.

Appendicitis is the most common cause of an "acute abdomen" - a so-called acute abdomen and has its age peak between the 9th and 14th year of age. Appendicitis can also occur in old age.

Symptoms and clarification

Pain in the right lower abdomen, which increases in intensity, should in any case quickly and be carried out by an experienced examiner possibly with diagnostic aids such as Blood values ​​and ultrasound are clarified.

Experienced because there are a number of differential diagnoses for appendicitis, i.e. a number of other, sometimes serious diseases can radiate into the right lower abdomen and simulate appendicitis.

therapy

The therapy of appendicitis is surgical in the vast majority of cases .

Depending on the findings and the stage of inflammation, patient preference, practitioner and system resources, the operations are usually carried out openly through an incision in the right lower abdomen, laparoscopically with the keyhole technique or with the so-called SILS method.

The latter is a new, cosmetically very attractive, but technically more complex surgical method, an appendectomy without visible scars (SILS ) allowed. This method cannot be used in every case and depends on a number of factors.

Other diseases of the appendix are comparatively rare.