Appendectomy Central Online
This database contains information on Board certified Gastroenterology surgeons in the United States specializing in appendectomies .
An appendectomy is surgery to remove the appendix. The appendix is a narrow sack that hangs down from the large bowel. It is located at the bottom right quadrant of the abdomen.
Location of
appendix
Detailed Location of appendix
Appendicitis is when the appendix becomes swollen and infected. If the infected appendix (appendicitis) is not treated in a day or two, the appendix may break open. When the appendix breaks, the infection spreads inside the thorax cavity called the peritoneum. An infection of the peritoneum is called peritonitis, and if not treated within hours, can cause death.
Most appendectomies are conducted using lapaoscopic techniques, where minimal invasive surgery is used (i.e. small incisions and small resultant scars). Laparoscopic appendectomy is a reliable procedure which can be completed within 20 to 30 minutes under general surgery. The resuktant hospital stay is two or three days rather than 6 or 7.
How a Laparoscopic Appendectomy Works
A small incision is made in the abdomen and the large intestine where the appendix is attched is pull upward, exposing the appendix.
The appendix is grasped at its tip and is held in upward position.
Pic Courtesy www.transmed.net
A small hole is cut into the membrane material (mesoappendix) under and at the base of the appendix. This "window" allows a cauterizing instrument to slide through the hole and around the appendix at its base.
Pic Courtesy www.transmed.net
When the cauterizing instrument is squeezed tight, it is then "fired" to cauterize and separate the appendix from the large intestine.
Pic3
Pic Courtesy www.transmed.net
When the cauterizer is fired, it cauterizes (cuts and the two sepaprate openings are sealed by burning). The result is a separated appendix and a sealed point where the appendix was oriniginally attached to the large intestine. Sometimes this sealed point is stapled or sutured. The mesoappendix is stapled and cut with the same cauterizer.
Pic Courtesy www.transmed.net
The appendix is then removed and placed into a biologic disposal bag.
The intraabdominal cavity is irrigated thoroughly with normal saline solution. Sometimes if the appendix was ruptured, there is a drain temorarily inserted for a few days.
The incision in the stomach wall is then sutured and the operation is complete.
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