Abdominal pain and Appendicitis

Apendicitis is a sudden swelling up of a small tubular organ the size of the little finger found at the junction of small and large intestine. It presents as sudden shooting pain in the right lower abdomen and does not go away. If ignored or self-medicated for the same it may lead to serious consequences.

It is not still clear what role the appendix plays in the body. It is said to be a vestigial organ  without any useful role. However, some researches confirm that it has some amount of immune function that helps our system to rebalance after any gastrointestinal disease.

Inflammation of this abdominal organ can serious if not treated on time. Sometimes appendix may burst due to high infection and spreads the infection throughout the body.

Though people can experience appendicitis at any age, most of the teenagers among twenties are suffering a lot.

What are the causes of appendicitis?

The exact cause of appendicitis is unknown. However this condition often develops from 2 reasons i.e. gastrointestinal infection that spreads to the appendix and an obstacle that blocks the appendix opening mostly in the form of a small pellet of stool called ‘faecolith’.

How is appendix diagnosed?

• Generally, physical and abdominal examination is done to know the exact site of pain 
• A Blood test will be taken to find out the white blood cells count to assess the infection level
• A Urine test will determine the presence of any kidney stones/UTI
• The Pelvic examination will be performed in women
• If the above tests do not provide the necessary information, CT/MRI will be done

The treatment varies depends on the severity of appendicitis. Most acute cases can be cured with antibiotics whereas some need surgical intervention in the form of laparoscopic surgery.

Dr. Patta Radhakrishna is well known senior Surgical Gastroenterologist and laparoscopic surgeon who has a vast experience in treating appendicitis treatment in India. He is the most sought-after surgeon for appendix removal surgery in Chennai.

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