appendectomy Huntsville AL
EMERGENCY APPENDECTOMY
Appendicitis is an inflamed, infected appendix, and it's a surgical emergency. The classic signs are pain that starts near the belly button and moves to the lower right abdomen, along with fever, nausea, and loss of appetite. If you think you or someone you're with has appendicitis, go to the emergency room right away rather than waiting for an office appointment. Dr. Mailapur performs appendectomy laparoscopically, and most patients go home within a day or two.
What Appendicitis Is
The appendix is a small pouch attached to the large intestine, on the lower right side of the abdomen. Appendicitis happens when it becomes blocked, inflamed, and infected. Left untreated, an inflamed appendix can rupture, which spreads infection into the abdominal cavity and turns a straightforward surgery into a more complicated one.
Recognizing the Symptoms
The classic pattern starts with dull pain near the belly button that shifts and intensifies in the lower right abdomen over several hours. It's often accompanied by fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and pain that worsens with movement, coughing, or pressing on the area.
This is a situation where waiting to see if it gets better on its own isn't the right call. If you suspect appendicitis, go to the emergency room. It can't be reliably diagnosed or ruled out over the phone, and a delayed diagnosis raises the risk of rupture.
How Surgery Works
We remove the appendix laparoscopically, through a few small incisions, using a camera to guide the procedure. This is true even on an urgent or emergency basis — laparoscopic appendectomy is the standard approach for the large majority of cases. If the appendix has already ruptured, the surgery and recovery take longer, since the infection itself needs to be addressed along with the appendix.
Most patients without complications go home within a day or two and return to normal activity within one to two weeks.