Description

Acute appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix, the narrow, finger-shaped organ that branches off the first part of the large intestine on the right side of the abdomen. This video demonstrate laparoscopic appendectomy performed for acute appendicitis by Dr R K Mishra. Although the appendix is a vestigial organ with no known function, it can become diseased. Acute appendicitis remains the most common surgical emergency. The lifetime risk of developing an appendicitis is reported to be 6.7% in females and 8.7% in males. The peak incidence occurs in the first and second decade of life, while it is uncommon to face appendicitis in children younger than 5 years of age. The clinical presentation may be varied and often is similar to other medical conditions, so a misdiagnosis can be frequent and the most common one is usually gastroenteritis. Our diagnostic and therapeutic protocol from about ten years was the following: if the patient was thought to have an acute appendicitis preoperatively diagnosed by physical, laboratory findings and ultrasound examination, antibiotic treatment was started immediately with laparoscopic appendectomy. Laparoscopy is now demonstrated to be the optimal approach also to treat complicated appendicitis, but this standardized operation is not always easy to perform for new surgeons.