[Prophylactic Appendectomy: Yes or No?] / Begleitappendektomie: ja oder nein?

Background At more than 50%, appendicitis is the leading cause of acute intra-abdominal disease requiring surgery. In the course of various other operations, prophylactic appendectomy (PA) is frequently performed. Objectives This study examines to what extent PA is justified. Patients and Methods A prospective study was performed in all patients (n = 173) undergoing prophylactic appendectomy in Katharinen Hospital Unna between January 2010 and October 2013. The following variables were analysed: age, gender, type of primary surgery, emergency or elective surgery, complications, lethality, intraoperative and histopathological evaluation of the appendix. In addition, patients were contacted postoperatively with the request to complete a questionnaire. Results Prophylactic appendectomy was carried out without any specific complications. 117 patients (68%) participated in the survey. 15% of these patients had suffered symptoms that could be attributable to irritation of the appendix. With only one exception, all appendectomy specimens revealed pathological findings in the histopathological examination. PA allowed the early diagnosis of 4 adenomas, one neuroendocrine tumour and 6 metastases or manifestations of peritoneal carcinomatosis. Conclusion PA is ethically justifiable, as there are few complications. Moreover, it can help to avoid future appendicitis and allows early detection of malignancies.

Abdomen agudo secundario a invaginación apendicular / Acute abdomen secondary to appendiceal intussusception

La invaginación apendicular es una entidad rara que puede ocurrir a cualquier edad. Actualmente, están descritos pocos casos, en su mayoría hallazgos intraoperatorios. La conducta terapéutica suele ser quirúrgica, variando desde una apendicectomía hasta una hemicolectomía, principalmente para la toma de biopsia y descartar neoplasias. Se presentan 3 casos de ni˜nos menores de 14 a˜nos intervenidos por cuadro de dolor abdominal agudo localizado en la fosa iliaca derecha, uno de ellos con diagnóstico preoperatorio mediante ecografía y los demás con hallazgo intraoperatorio de invaginación del apéndice cecal, con apendicitis aguda confirmada histológicamente

Appendiceal intussusception is a rare condition that can occur at any age. Only a few cases have been reported, and most are found during surgery. The therapeutic approach is usually surgical, ranging from an appendectomy to a hemicolectomy, primarily for biopsy and to rule out possible malignancy. Three cases of children under 14 years who underwent surgery for acute abdominal pain located in the right iliac fossa are presented; one with preoperative diagnosis by ultrasound, and the other two with positive intraoperative findings of intussusception of the cecal appendix, with acute appendicitis being histologically confirmed

Apendicectomía profiláctica / Prophylactic appendicectomy

Las fuerzas armadas en nuestro país destacan personal por períodos prolongados a sitios de difícil acceso, siendo requisito para esta permanencia la apendicectomía profiláctica. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la necesidad de la apendicectomía profiláctica en un individuo sano por la eventualidad que represente una apendicitis(AU)