What Is The Appendix And What Are The Consequences Of Removing It?

By Author: Ivan Cuxeva
Total Articles: 779
Comment this article

The appendix is a small worm-like appendage which is attached to the colon, the functions of the appendix in the human body are not clearly understood so removing this part of the colon doesn't cause any long term health related issue however, it has been noticed that those patients who had the appendix removed have noticed a slight increase in diseases such as Crohn's disease.

The most common reason for complication after an appendectomy is the infection of the wound, this infection is related to the surgical incision rather than the actual procedure done to the appendix, they infections may vary from mild to moderate amount of redness around the area which was treated, in such cases small infections can be treated with antibiotics.

In some cases the surgeon will not try to close the wound which was made in order to reach the appendix due to the fact that sometimes the appendix may be severely infected as well as the incision created, if this is the case the surgeon will wait for several days until the infection subsides and the one can be closed normally without being worried about any further complication which ...
... may result from an infection.

In order to decrease the risk of infection during an appendectomy the surgeon may execute a laparoscopic surgery which is basically a surgery using a thin telescope which carries a camera and is connected to a monitor, this way the surgeon is able to inspect the area internally and will also be able to accurately locate the air which needs to be treated and determined if there are any infections or abscesses that need to be drained.

So in a nutshell, the consequences of removing the appendix are minimal because patients may only slightly be more vulnerable to certain diseases, the only complication that needs to be taken in consideration is that of the wound which is open in order to drain any abscesses which might have been created because of internal infections and appendix rupture.