- anaesthetic awareness
- birth injury
- brain haemorrhage
- cancer misdiagnosis
- cauda equina syndrome
- cerebral palsy
- cosmetic surgery
- dental negligence
- gynaecology errors
- laparoscopy surgery
- medical negligence solicitors
- neonatal conditions
- obstetric cholestasis
- surgery negligence
- gastric band surgery
- prescription errors
Appendicitis - Medical Negligence Compensation
Thousands of clinical compensation claims are initiated every year in the United Kingdom by medical negligence solicitors on behalf of people from all walks of life. A multitude of operations and procedures are executed successfully however a small percentage do go wrong, laying the grounds for medical negligence solicitors to take legal action in order to claim compensation. Both legal aid and the no win no fee scheme are available to pursue medical negligence compensation claims.
Please contact us for help pursuing your claim.
Medical Negligence Compensation Claim Solicitors Helpline 0844 332 0095
Your appendix is a finger-like extension off the distal (last part) of the small bowel, where it attaches to the colon. The appendix is located in the lower right aspect of your abdomen. When you get appendicitis, you get an inflammation of the appendix that then fills with pus. It is a very small structure that has no purpose in the digestive tract. Nevertheless it can cause a great degree of trouble in your system.
Appendicitis involves a typical course. Those with appendicitis usually begin with pain that starts around the navel and then travels to the right lower quadrant of the stomach. It changes from peri-umbilical pain to right lower quadrant abdominal pain over about 12 to 18 hours. It starts as a mild pain and then becomes severe. Appendicitis can affect just about anyone but is most common in those between 10 to 30 years of age.
Typical symptoms of appendicitis include an aching pain that starts around the navel and progresses to involve the right lower quadrant. The pain can become sharper over a period of 12-18 hours. It is usually tender in the right lower quadrant and the pain sometimes begins to become sharp. There is rebound tenderness, which is tenderness that occurs just when a hand is lifted quickly from the surface of the abdomen. The pain worsens if you walk, cough or make any jarring movements. You can feel nausea and vomiting, a poor appetite, a low grade fever, inability to pass gas, diarrhea or constipation. The abdomen can become distended due to inflammation or fluid collection or gas collection.
The causes of appendicitis can include an obstruction of the appendix. A fecolith or fecal stone can block the opening of the appendix, leading to infection behind the stone. This can happen with food particles as well. The appendix can become inflamed after a case of gastroenteritis or other types of infection or inflammation in the colon. Bacteria roll in quickly after the inflammation sets in and cause the infection to flare up.
There can be serious complications of appendicitis. You can get an abdominal abscess that happens when the bacteria form a collection of pus and fluid in the abdominal area either outside or inside the appendix. The appendix can rupture, leading to peritonitis or an infection of the lining of the abdominal cavity. It can be hard to diagnose appendicitis in such cases because the pain spreads to other aspects of the abdomen and the entire abdomen can be inflamed and infected.
Doctors diagnose the condition by examining the abdomen for rebound pain and tenderness in the umbilicus or around the right lower quadrant. The abdomen can be rigid if the infection is severe and there can be guarding of the abdomen because of a reflexive stiffness of the abdominal muscles when they are touched.
Blood tests can tell if there is a high white blood cell count, which is usually present in appendicitis. The urine is checked to see whether or not the urinary tract is the source of the pain and increased white blood cell count. A CT scan or ultrasound can confirm the diagnosis of appendicitis by showing its increase in size and the presence of fluid around the appendix.
The treatment of appendicitis involves surgery to remove the appendix. Surgery alone will take care of the appendix if it has not ruptured and is easy to access via surgery. Doctors can do an open appendectomy or an endoscopic/laparoscopic appendectomy, which involves the use of a camera at the end of a tube. Doctors can do surgical work using the endoscope as well. A laparoscopic appendectomy involves a series of small incisions rather than a large incision in a regular appendectomy. You recover faster after a laparoscopic endoscopic appendectomy.
Doctors may have to drain an abscess before taking care of the appendix itself. If there is infection outside of the appendix, antibiotics are used to clear up the infection.