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.

Results from AspenBio Pharma's AppyScore trial on appendicitis to be presented at SAEM meeting

The results from AspenBio Pharma's 503-patient pilot study of AppyScore will be presented from the podium the upcoming West Region meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) being held in Las Vegas, March 16-17.

17 Mar 2012

IFHP releases 2011 Comparative Price Report

The International Federation of Health Plans today released its 2011 Comparative Price Report detailing its annual survey of medical costs per unit. Designed to showcase the variation in healthcare costs around the world, the report examines the costs of medical procedures, tests, scans and treatments in nine countries.

3 Mar 2012

Wake Forest Baptist researchers create emergency general surgery registry

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, have successfully created and implemented an emergency general surgery registry (EGSR) that will advance the science of acute surgical care by allowing surgeons to track and improve surgical patient outcomes, create performance metrics, conduct valid research and ensure quality care for all emergency general surgery (EGS) patients.

7 Feb 2012

Delayed appendectomies may increase likelihood of complications in children

An in-hospital delay of appendicitis treatment beyond two days was linked to an increased likelihood of complications, including perforation and abscess formation; longer hospitalization; increased costs; and more rarely, death, according an abstract presented Saturday, Oct. 15 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

15 Oct 2011

Cotton swab dramatically reduces infections in post-operative incision sites

A simple item found in almost every medicine cabinet - a cotton swab -- may be a key tool in the fight against post-surgical wound infections.

29 Jun 2011

NIH-funded study to develop virtual reality simulator for 'scarless' endoscopic surgery

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have secured a $2.7 million grant to develop the first-ever virtual reality simulator for next-generation "scarless" endoscopic surgery.

20 Jun 2011

Removal of tonsils and appendix heightens risk of heart attack: Study

According to a new study surgical removal of tonsils and the appendix before the age of 20 is likely to elevate the risk of a premature heart attack. The researchers found that tonsillectomy (removal of tonsils) increased the risk by 44 per cent and removal of the appendix by 33 per cent. The risk increases were even higher when both the tonsils and appendix were removed.

2 Jun 2011

Appendix and tonsil surgeries before age 20 can increase risk of premature heart attack

The surgical removal of the appendix and tonsils before the age of 20 was associated with an increased risk of premature heart attack in a large population study performed in Sweden. Tonsillectomy increased the risk by 44% (hazard ratio 1.44) and appendectomy by 33% (HR 1.33).

1 Jun 2011

Antibiotics may serve as effective treatment for appendicitis than surgery

Antibiotics rather than surgery may be the better treatment for cases of appendicitis in which the appendix hasn't burst, according to a new study.

29 Apr 2011

AJG publishes new review on Inflammatory Bowel Disease management

The American College of Gastroenterology published a new evidence-based systematic review on the management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease as a supplement to The American Journal of Gastroenterology for April 2011, a special issue entirely dedicated to IBD.

8 Apr 2011

Early appendectomy appears to reduce time away from normal activities in children with appendicitis

For children with a perforated appendix, early appendectomy appears to reduce the time away from normal activities and has fewer adverse events as compared to another common option, the interval appendectomy, which is performed several weeks after diagnosis, according to a report published online first in the Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Feb 2011

Laparoscopic approach still best for most patients, not for all: Study

If skin is the body's fortress against germ invaders, shouldn't minimally invasive surgeries - operations guided by camera probes, conducted entirely within the abdomen - carry less risk for serious infection than procedures that slice the same cavity wide open?

9 Dec 2010

Council seeks to limit medical resident working hours for improved patient care

As the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education seeks to improve patient care by further limiting the hours worked by medical residents, the Journal of Surgical Research will published a new study online on Monday reporting that outcomes in two common surgeries - appendectomy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy - were similar among residents who had worked less than 16 hours and those who had worked more than 16 hours.

26 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients

Pay-for-performance reimbursement models may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients, measuring a patient's waist circumference may be more effective in predicting surgical outcomes than the more traditional body mass index measure, and childhood obesity doubles the risk of developing colon cancer, according to data being presented at Digestive Disease Week- 2010.

5 May 2010

Pay-for-performance policies may create financial disincentives for doctors to treat obese patients

Pay-for-performance reimbursement of surgeons, intended to reward doctors and hospitals for good patient outcomes, may instead be creating financial incentives for discriminating against obese patients, who are much more likely to suffer expensive complications after even the most routine surgeries, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

3 May 2010

Physician's perspective: Bundling Medicare payments could cut costs, without reducing quality

The Washington Post has a section today titled "Scenes from the 21st century doctor's office."

10 Mar 2010

HealthGrades names Good Samaritan Hospital as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010

Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles is named as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010 by HealthGrades, Inc., the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

24 Feb 2010

Olympus launches new medical devices for LESS surgery

A variety of new medical devices specifically designed for Laparo-Endoscopic Single-Site surgery (LESS surgery) has been announced and introduced by Olympus Europa Holding GmbH and Olympus Medical Systems Corporation. LESS surgery is an advanced, minimally invasive operation technique by which an endoscope and hand instruments are inserted through an access port anchored in just one small incision, usually made in the navel. After developing all the medical devices needed to perform LESS surgery, Olympus has yet again proven its leadership in the field. The release of these innovative devices in Europe took place in autumn 2009.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 18 Feb 2010

Preoperative CT may help reduce unnecessary surgeries in women with suspected acute appendicitis

Preoperative computed tomography (CT) may help reduce unnecessary surgeries in women of reproductive age with suspected acute appendicitis, according to a new study appearing in the February issue of the journal Radiology.

27 Jan 2010

Risk of postoperative visual loss is highest after heart surgery

Imagine waking up after surgery to find out you have lost your sight—permanently. Although rare, postoperative visual loss is a well-recognized complication of anesthesia and surgery that is more common after certain types of procedures and in some groups of patients, according to a study in the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

3 Nov 2009