Appendix

Appendix

You might say that the appendix is like holding a Republican party sign-up drive at an Aerosmith concert or slapping on Right Guard before you jump in a sauna--that is, pretty useless.

Even after all those years of medical research, doctors are still baffled by this narrow, finger-shaped tube that branches off the large intestine. It''''s unique, as far as body parts go, in that it has absolutely no known function.

But that doesn''''t mean you can disregard it. If the ambulance siren is blaring, there''''s a good chance someone''''s on her way to the hospital with appendicitis: it''''s the most common abdominal surgical emergency in developed countries.

Diagnosis of this gut-kicker isn''''t easy, partly because the position of the appendix can vary. Most people have an appendix that projects out of the colon at the lower right-hand side of the abdomen. Other people have an appendix behind or below the first part of the colon or in front of or behind the ileum, which is part of the small intestine.

A Hurt Attack

A classic symptom of appendicitis is pain in the stomach area around the belly button and in the lower right area of the abdomen. If your appendix is acting up, the pain will be constant and aggravated by movement. Other symptoms are nausea, vomiting and low-grade fever. If you do have persistent discomfort, especially around the lower right side of your belly, you should notice whether you also have loss of appetite or nausea soon after. A combination of these symptoms within a 12- to 24-hour period means that you should give your doctor a call.

If a doctor suspects appendicitis, you can be certain she''''ll recommend an appendectomy as soon as possible. Your appendix can rupture within hours of becoming inflamed and infected. A ruptured appendix could lead to peritonitis, an inflammation of the abdominal organs that is sometimes fatal if not treated with antibiotics.

Just who gets this great big pain in their side? In a Swedish study of over 7,000 patients who had operations for suspected appendicitis, researchers found that the age of peak risk was 10 to 14 years. The incidence of appendicitis was about 1 in 1,000--and more common among males than females. The study also showed that doctors diagnosed men''''s appendicitis more accurately than women''''s--because there are some gynecological diseases that can mimic appendicitis.

One way to help avoid unnecessary surgery is for your doctor to do an ultrasound of the area. In a study of 110 patients admitted to the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego with suspected appendicitis, ultrasound-derived diagnoses had an 85 percent accuracy rate. But there''''s also evidence that ultrasound diagnosis sometimes misses appendicitis--so even with the technology, you need a doctor who has knowledge about symptoms.