Imagine this. You are sitting in the waiting room of the hospital with excruciating pain in your right side. You are waiting for the doctor to give you your results. The doctor walks in with a concerned look on his face. He says, “The results of the ultrasound came back. You have appendicitis.” Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix. It happens when either a piece of stool blocks the opening or the appendix becomes infected. It can become very serious if the appendix ruptures, but a patient can make a full recovery.

The Appendix
Did you know that the appendix is a small organ that attached to our large intestine? Many people don’t even know what an appendix is. The word appendix comes from the word appendage because it is an appendage off of the cecum. Appendicitis in the inflammation of the appendix. The appendix is a finger-shaped tube that comes off of the cecum of the large intestine where the small intestine empties its contents. It is in the lower right abdomen and is at the place doctors refer to as McBurney’s Point. It is called McBurney’s Point because it is named after a leading surgeon to figure out the treatment and diagnosis of appendicitis. He showed that the beginning of appendicitis could be determined by applying pressure to the lower right abdomen in 1889. When he explained the process of the removal of the appendix, it was called McBurney’s incision. The appendix is around 4 inches long and around 0.5 inches wide. The closed end of the appendix is wider than the part attached to the cecum. This makes it easy for a small piece of something to get stuck and block the start of the appendix. It is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine and is a part of the gastrointestinal tract.

The Functioning
The function of the appendix is unknown but there are some theories that have been created over the past centuries. One theory by Charles Darwin says it was used to digest a plant material we can no longer eat today due to adaptations. Another theory is it is a safe-house for the good bacteria that fights off infections in the intestine. Scientists are still studying the appendix to figure out what the use of the organ is, but that is difficult as no other animal except the ape family have an appendix or something like it. Charles Darwin believes it could be part of the cecum shrunken up over time. The appendix is also harder to research because it someone can be completely healthy without it. The question is if we can live without the appendix, why do we need it? This question has troubled scientists for centuries and this could be why there is no determined use.

Symptoms and Signs
If you get appendicitis, there are many signs and symptoms of appendicitis that makes it different from any other disease. Every case of appendicitis is different because everyone’s body is different. Some possible symptoms are nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal swelling, a fever of 99-102 degrees and lower right side abdominal pain. Some cases have all of these symptoms and some cases have only pain. However, all cases of appendicitis are serious and require immediate medical care. The lower right side abdominal pain starts off as a mild, sharp pain and becomes steadier and stronger as more time passes.

Can it happen to you?
Did you know there are approximately 250,000 appendectomies performed each year? About 1 in 500 people people get appendicitis each year with an average age from around 10-30 years old. Appendicitis is the most common emergency surgical procedure in the United States. Also, out of 100 people, about 8 will get appendicitis in their lifetime. Since not everyone who gets appendicitis has access to the medical attention they need, about 400 people die each year from appendicitis. That is a very small percentage compared to the amount of cases of appendicitis.

The Rupture
If appendicitis is not taken care of right away, the appendix may rupture, making the case much more serious. After the appendix is blocked, bacteria will start to multiply in the appendix, causing the blood flow to stop and starve the tissues holding the appendix together. The tissues will start to die of starvation and make the wall of the appendix very thin. Once one part of the wall is too thin to stay together, a small tear will be created in the wall and the infection and bacteria will leak out into the abdomen. The appendix won’t pop like a bubble when it ruptures as some people might think. When the bacteria is in the abdomen, it will multiply even more and can infect the tissue that lines the abdomen, causing a disease called Peritonitis. This infection could spread to the cecum, bladder and sigmoid colon which could cause many more very serious problems. If this is left untreated, it could cause death in rare cases. The infection can spread to some major organs and cause them to fail. If your appendix ruptures, you may have a short period of no pain but then more symptoms may come such as diarrhea, nausea, lack of appetite, vomiting and returning pain in the lower right abdomen.

Treatment
There are multiple treatments or appendicitis depending on the case and seriousness. The most common treatment is an appendectomy which surgically removes the appendix. There are two different kinds of appendectomies. One kind creates a scar across the lower right abdomen. This is created by an open surgery and is the traditional type of surgery. The second kind of appendectomy is done laparoscopically and creates three small scars. One is right above the belly button, one below and one to the left. Most appendectomies are done laparoscopically but if the case is very serious, an open surgery might be necessary. Not all appendicitis cases require an appendectomy. In rare cases, the appendix can heal with the help of antibiotics. If this is the case, it is likely the patient will have appendicitis again later in life. If the appendix ruptures, some doctors may choose to fight off the infection in the abdomen with strong antibiotics before removing the appendix. Some studies show that removing the ruptured appendix before treating the infection will speed up the recovery process.

A few years ago, I had appendicitis myself. I had no other symptoms except the pain in my lower right side. Before then, I did not know the appendix existed. I have always been curious about what appendicitis is and why it happens. I would like to teach more people about this disease so it can be diagnosed and treated quicker. Remember, appendicitis can happen to anyone at any time and there is no way of preventing it.