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Wrong diagnosis and unnecessary removal of the appendix
Thousands of children have their appendix unnecessary removed because of the lack of experience of the surgeons. About 8% of the appendectomies are unjustified in spite of appendicitis being the most common pediatric disease. Children must undergo a surgical operation that finally proves a normal healthy appendix.
Although appendicitis may seem easy to diagnose, difficulties can appear due to the symptoms assembling to the manifestations of other disorders in the area. Complains like abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever can be caused by intestinal infections or especially by genital pathology in young girls. No test for appendicitis can be 100% accurate.
Wrong diagnosis is much rarer in pediatric hospitals with experienced surgeons, which have performed more appendectomies, and mostly recommend X-ray exams, CT-scan or ultrasonography before establishing a certain diagnosis.
In spite of these mistakes, appendectomies cannot be performed only in big hospitals, together with more complex and risking operations such as heart transplant or coronary by-passes. Appendicitis shouldn’t be a disease to require the hospitalization and medical care of a major medical centre. If so, these clinics would be overwhelmed by the number of patients and the smaller children hospitals would remain without medical cases.
Surgeons all over the world tend to accept the possibility of removing a healthy appendix, a small segment hanging from the Ilion with no particularly important function. And this because they prefer to remove a normal appendix than risk major complications like perforation, generalized peritonitis or even death.
Usually the doctors explain the patients or their caretakers there is a possibility to remove a healthy appendix because the appendicitis diagnosis isn’t accurate. The certainty of appendicitis can only be established intra-operator, when the surgeon extracts a “red worm” meaning an inflamed, infected appendix or a “white worm”, a normal one. Operating doctors usually expect to find 15% whit worms during appendectomies.
Patients are informed before surgical intervention that they will get a 1-2 inch incision by classical surgery method or three smaller ones while laparoscopic appendectomy is performed.
Recent studies and research have confirmed the worthless tolerance of errors within appendicitis diagnosis and appendectomies. Scientists claim, needless appendectomies in adults lead to a minimum of 6 days hospitalization required, a lost period of time that could affect one’s business or familiar activity. One patient in 40 develop further complications after surgery and need prolonged medical care and about 1.5% of the operated persons die.
About the Author: For more resources about appendicitis or even about acute appendicitis please visit this website http://www.appendicitis-center.com/
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