Appendectomy

Cause / Condition
For surgical management of acute appendicitis, laparoscopic removal has become the preferred surgical technique.

It should be noted that in certain cases involving an abscess and/or "ruptured" appendix an open surgical procedure may be required.

About the Procedure
The surgeon makes three tiny abdominal incisions and uses specially designed laparoscopic instruments to remove the appendix.

Recovery
An average hospital stay is 1-2 days and the patient requires less pain medication because no major muscle groups are cut. The incisions are tiny and recovery for resumption of normal activities is 1-2 weeks.

Expectations / Experience
Patients can expect an overall faster resumption of work and normal activities as indicated in the comparative table.

Incisional site tenderness is normal but temporary. The overall majority of patients return to a normal diet anywhere from several hours to one day following surgery. Comparative results are listed below.

MIMIS surgeons have performed successful laparoscopic appendectomies since 1991.

Factor	Traditional	Laparoscopic
Hospital Stay	4-5 days	1-2 days
Pain during recovery	Moderate	Minimal
Return to work timeframe	4-6 weeks	1-2 weeks
Cosmetic results	4-5" scar	3 tiny incisions

For more information contact:

The Milwaukee Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery
Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee
2301 N. Lake Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53211

(800) 377-2673

Email us