Appendectomy News and Research

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An appendicectomy (or appendectomy) is the surgical removal of the vermiform appendix. This procedure is normally performed as an emergency procedure, when the patient is suffering from acute appendicitis. In the absence of surgical facilities, intravenous antibiotics are used to delay or avoid the onset of sepsis; it is now recognized that many cases will resolve when treated non-operatively. In some cases the appendicitis resolves completely; more often, an inflammatory mass forms around the appendix. This is a relative contraindication to surgery.

Antibiotics alone can effectively treat children with uncomplicated appendicitis

Appendicitis is the most common cause for emergency abdominal surgery in childhood, affecting 80,000 children in the United States each year, but nonoperative treatment options are viable.

27 Jul 2020

Senators Cassidy and Carper urge CMS to update restrictive coverage policies on obesity drugs and IBT

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Thomas Carper (D-Del.) are calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to lift regulations that deny insurance coverage for obesity drugs and that limit coverage of Intensive Behavioral Therapy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Jul 2020

ASMBS calls for safe and rapid resumption of metabolic and bariatric surgery

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the leading organization of bariatric surgeons and integrated health professionals in the nation, declared metabolic and bariatric surgery "medically necessary and the best treatment for those with the life-threatening and life-limiting disease of severe obesity" and called for the safe and rapid resumption of procedures, which have been largely postponed along with other surgeries deemed elective amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

23 Jun 2020

Patient satisfaction and quality of life similar across all appendicitis treatments

A new study published in the journal JAMA Surgery in February 2020 shows that patients with acute appendicitis that were successfully treated either by antibiotics or by appendectomy had identical satisfaction with their treatment and identical quality of life over the long term. The patients who were first treated conservatively and then had appendectomy had lower satisfaction rates.

19 Feb 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Fact-checking president Trump’s State of the Union

President Donald Trump had a lot to say about health care in his State of the Union address Tuesday night — not all of it completely accurate.

6 Feb 2020

To boost bottom lines, single-payer may be just what these restaurateurs ordered

Last winter, James Mark was a 2018 James Beard Award finalist. A few months later, both GQ and Bon Appétit ranked Big King, his newest Rhode Island restaurant, as one of the country's best places to eat.

6 Feb 2020

New tool accurately predicts risks of death, complications from obesity and diabetes

A new web-based risk calculator can accurately predict the likelihood a patient with type 2 diabetes and obesity will die or develop serious complications including a heart attack, heart failure and diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy) within the next 10 years.

6 Nov 2019

Study defies decades-old patient eligibility guidelines for bariatric surgery

Weight-loss surgery has long been shown to improve or resolve diabetes, reduce heart attacks and stroke and produce significant weight loss, but the operation has generally been restricted by health insurers to people with severe obesity, which means about 75 to 100 pounds overweight or a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher.

5 Nov 2019

Bariatric surgery may cut genetic risk for developing breast cancer

Women with a genetic predisposition for breast cancer were 2.5 times more likely to develop a malignancy than women with the same genetic risk who underwent bariatric or weight-loss surgery, according to a new study presented today by Cleveland Clinic Florida researchers at the 36th American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek 2019.

5 Nov 2019

Metabolic surgery patients two times less likely to have recurrent and fatal heart attacks

Metabolic surgery patients with a history of coronary artery disease were about two times less likely to have a recurrent and fatal heart attack or develop systolic heart failure compared to closely matched patients who did not have the surgery, according to a new study from Cleveland Clinic Florida researchers who presented their findings today at the 36th American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek 2019.

5 Nov 2019

Cancer risk reduces to half with over 20% weight loss in post- bariatric surgery patients

Patients with severe obesity who had bariatric or weight-loss surgery and lost more than 20% of their total weight were 50% less likely to develop cancer compared to patients who did not have as much weight loss after surgery, according to a new study presented today by Oregon Health & Science University researchers at the 36th American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek 2019.

5 Nov 2019

Study compares costs, outcomes of surgeries at teaching and non-teaching hospitals

Patients with a high risk of dying after surgery, including those with multiple chronic diseases, benefit from undergoing general or vascular procedures at a major teaching hospital as opposed to a non-teaching hospital, according to a study from researchers at Penn Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

17 Oct 2019

Doctors can change opioid prescribing habits, but progress comes in small doses

When they started practicing medicine, most surgeons say, there was little or no information about just how many pain pills patients needed after specific procedures.

14 Aug 2019

Study: Sharing medical 'selfies' with a doctor empowers, reassures healthcare consumers

Taking medical 'selfies' and sharing them with a doctor empowers and reassures healthcare consumers, and can improve doctor-patient relationships, a two-part study led by Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia has found.

29 Jun 2019

Appendix removal linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease

People who have had their appendix removed may be at an increased risk for developing Parkinson’s disease, according to new research.

10 May 2019

Long-term opioid use by family member associated with higher chances of persistent opioid use by teens

This study looked at whether long-term opioid use by one or more family members was associated with long-term opioid use by adolescents and young adults prescribed opioids for the first time after common surgical or dental procedures.

27 Feb 2019

Researchers assess trends in efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis regimens for surgical procedures

Antibiotic prophylaxis regimens are becoming less effective at preventing surgical site infections following colorectal surgery, researchers at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and Princeton University determined through a systematic review of available literature.

27 Nov 2018

The appendix may be associated with Parkinson’s disease

The vermiform appendix or appendix as we commonly know it, is a vestigial organ of the body which does not come into notice unless it is inflamed (such as in appendicitis). In cases of appendicitis, the finger like part of the gut at the base of the caecum is surgically removed.

1 Nov 2018

Study shows spillover effect of evidence-based opioid prescribing for major procedures

To curb the use of opioids after major elective operations and prevent these pain relievers from falling into the wrong hands, surgeons at the University of Michigan developed prescribing recommendations based on published medical evidence for one operation, gall bladder removal, and then discovered a spillover effect that led them to prescribe roughly 10,000 fewer pills for other major operations, according to study results appearing as an "article in press" on the website of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons ahead of print.

27 Jul 2018

People with type 2 diabetes may have increased risk of Parkinson's disease, shows study

People with type 2 diabetes may have an increased risk of having a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease later in life, according to a large study published in the June 13, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Jun 2018

Appendectomy News and Research

Antibiotics alone can effectively treat children with uncomplicated appendicitis

Senators Cassidy and Carper urge CMS to update restrictive coverage policies on obesity drugs and IBT

ASMBS calls for safe and rapid resumption of metabolic and bariatric surgery

Patient satisfaction and quality of life similar across all appendicitis treatments

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Fact-checking president Trump’s State of the Union

To boost bottom lines, single-payer may be just what these restaurateurs ordered

New tool accurately predicts risks of death, complications from obesity and diabetes

Study defies decades-old patient eligibility guidelines for bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery may cut genetic risk for developing breast cancer

Metabolic surgery patients two times less likely to have recurrent and fatal heart attacks

Cancer risk reduces to half with over 20% weight loss in post- bariatric surgery patients

Study compares costs, outcomes of surgeries at teaching and non-teaching hospitals

Doctors can change opioid prescribing habits, but progress comes in small doses

Study: Sharing medical 'selfies' with a doctor empowers, reassures healthcare consumers

Appendix removal linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease

Long-term opioid use by family member associated with higher chances of persistent opioid use by teens

Researchers assess trends in efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis regimens for surgical procedures

The appendix may be associated with Parkinson’s disease

Study shows spillover effect of evidence-based opioid prescribing for major procedures

People with type 2 diabetes may have increased risk of Parkinson's disease, shows study

Using medieval medicine to find new treatments for modern-day infections

Launching a rapid test for COVID-19

Screening for pancreatic cancer using artificial intelligence

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