Bezmialem Vakıf University Faculty of Medicine Department of General Surgery Lecturer Assoc. Dr. Enver Kunduz warned about appendicitis.
Assoc. Dr. Kunduz said, “The appendix is located at the point where the large intestine starts. Until recently, this organ was thought to have no function in an adult human. However, studies conducted in recent years have revealed that the appendix plays an important role in the general immune system, especially in intestinal immunity.
Reminding that inflammation of the appendix for various reasons is called “acute appendicitis”, Assoc. Dr. Kunduz said, “This disease can be caused by any fruit seed, chewing gum or a piece of stool, especially in childhood. Likewise, infections originating from the immune system may also cause the development of acute appendicitis. It usually reveals its findings within 24 to 48 hours. The most typical finding is severe and unbearable pain that starts around the navel and then intensifies in the lower right part of the abdomen where the appendix is located. Because of these features, the disease is called “acute appendicitis”. If the diagnosis of acute appendicitis is diagnosed in the examinations of the patient who comes to the emergency room with this complaint, he is immediately directed to surgery and the disease is treated with the laparoscopic, that is, the surgical method that the citizen calls 'closed surgery'.
Assoc. Dr. Kunduz said, “In this case, life-threatening is not always in question. It is true that if the situation is not intervened, the spread of inflammation, namely perforation, can lead to serious intra-abdominal infections, septic shocks, and even life-threatening conditions. However, there is no risk in case of timely intervention. In fact, sometimes an abscess occurs around the appendix after appendicitis burst, and the body surrounds the abscess with surrounding organs such as the small intestine and prevents it from spreading. This is called 'Plastron Appendicitis' in the literature.
Underlining that the perception that sudden relief of appendicitis pain indicates appendicitis eruption is wrong, Assoc. Dr. Kunduz said, “The pain of appendicitis is not relieved, on the contrary, it gets worse over time and becomes unbearable. There may be some relief from time to time, but the pain will increase gradually unless intervened. Contrary to popular belief, the disappearance of appendicitis pain indicates that the infection picture has regressed, which is not something that will happen on its own.
Underlining that the appendix is an organ that carries intestinal mucosa, Assoc. Dr. Kunduz said, “Therefore, some benign and malignant tumors that develop in the intestine can also develop in the appendix. If the tumor is malignant, it is called 'appendiceal cancer'. This type of cancer can only be diagnosed by pathology results. Because it occurs with almost exactly the same findings as acute appendicitis. If cancer is found in the pathological examination of the piece after the surgical intervention based on the removal of the appendix, which is called 'appendectomy' in the literature, a second operation may be considered depending on the type, size and location of the tumor.
Assoc. Dr. Kunduz said, “If the tumor is mucinous and aggressive, there is a risk of metastasis. It can spread especially to the peritoneum, which is called 'peritoneal carcinomatosis' in the literature. In this case, a treatment method based on completely peeling the peritoneum and washing it with heated chemotherapy is applied.
Assoc. Dr. Saying that acute appendicitis can be confused with some other diseases apart from appendiceal cancer, Kunduz said, “Acute appendicitis is often confused with inflammatory bowel disease, especially 'Chron's disease'. In addition, acute appendicitis can be confused with cases such as FMS, which we call FMS, problems originating from the right ovary in women, inflammation of the right side of the large intestine, urinary tract infections originating from the right kidney, and kidney stones. Because these diseases manifest themselves with severe pain in the lower right region of the abdomen in the first stage," he concluded.
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