Appendectomy
If your appendix is swollen or infected, the best solution is an appendectomy to remove it. The board-certified Arizona Preferred Surgeons team in Glendale, Arizona, specializes in minimally invasive surgery to perform appendectomies. Call their office today or book an appointment online to learn more about their exceptional skills and why you should choose Arizona Preferred Surgeons for your appendectomy.
Appendectomy Q & A
What is an appendectomy?
An appendectomy is surgery to remove your appendix. You’ll need an appendectomy if you have a swollen or infected appendix (appendicitis).
Your appendix is a small, finger-shaped organ that branches off from your large intestine, where it’s joined to the small intestine. An infected appendix can rupture, spreading infection into your lower abdomen. This can be life-threatening, so an appendectomy is usually done without delay.
Removing your appendix doesn’t have any long-term effects. In adults, the organ doesn’t serve any purpose.
How is an appendectomy done?
The Arizona Preferred Surgeons team uses laparoscopic techniques to do an appendectomy in suitable patients. Laparoscopy is minimally invasive, meaning it causes less tissue damage and pain, and you recover more quickly.
You’re given a general anesthetic for your laparoscopic appendectomy, so you’re asleep during surgery. Your surgeon makes a small cut near your belly button then inserts a port to create an opening. They use the port to fill your abdomen with gas, making space to do the surgery.
Your surgeon inserts a small camera (laparoscope) into the port. The camera shows the surgeon your appendix on a screen in the operating room. Using additional ports, your surgeon inserts long, narrow, laparoscopic instruments. They carefully cut off your appendix and remove it through one of the ports.
You might need a drain — a small plastic tube that lets fluid flow away from the wound while you’re healing. Your doctor takes the drain out later. When your appendectomy surgery is done, the surgeon closes the incisions with tiny stitches, staples, surgical glue, or tape.
What other methods are used for an appendectomy?
The Arizona Preferred Surgeons team might use robotic surgery to do your appendectomy. This is very similar to laparoscopic surgery, but your surgeon guides the instruments using a da Vinci® robot instead of doing it by hand.
Some patients need open appendectomy surgery that uses a single large incision. Open surgery might be required if your appendix is very inflamed, there’s an abscess, or your appendix has burst. Patients who are severely obese or have scar tissue in their abdomen might also need open appendectomy surgery.
After a straightforward appendectomy, you can usually go home the same day. You might need to stay in the hospital overnight or possibly longer if your appendix burst. Most patients get back to everyday activities about a week after laparoscopic appendectomy.
Call Arizona Preferred Surgeons today or book an appointment online to learn more about having an appendectomy.