Appendix Surgery

What is appendectomy?

This is a type of surgery to remove the appendix. Removal of the appendix cures appendicitis. If appendicitis is untreated, it may rupture or burst open and cause very serious illness or even death.

Appendectomy is a common surgery and many people have had their appendix removed. One way to remove the appendix is by making one larger cut, or incision, below and to the right of your belly button. This is referred to as an open appendectomy.

Laparoscopic appendectomy removes the appendix using small incisions and will be described below.

How is a Laparoscopic Appendectomy Performed?

You will have general anesthesia for your laparoscopic appendectomy. This means that you are asleep during surgery. When surgery is finished, the surgeon closes your incisions with tiny stitches, staples, surgical tape or glue.

Once you are asleep, the surgeon makes an incision near your belly button and inserts a small device called a port. The port creates an opening that your surgeon can use to fill the abdomen with gas. This creates space to do the operation. Next, a small camera is inserted through the port. The camera shows the surgery on a screen in the operating room. Once the surgeon can see clearly, they put in more ports to insert long, narrow instruments.

Finally, they gently disconnect your appendix and take it out through one of the incisions. Most operations need 3 incisions, but this can vary from 1 (one) to 4, based on various circumstances.

Your surgeon might use a surgical robot to do your operation. It is done the same way as described above. Your doctor guides the robot instead of guiding the instruments by hand. This is commonly referred to as robotic surgery.

Your surgery team might put in a small plastic tube called a “drain” during surgery. This lets fluid drain from the surgery area while you are healing, so it does not build up and cause problems. Your doctor will take out the drain later.

If the inflammation of your appendix is more complicated, a larger incision may be necessary to complete the surgery safely. Your surgeon will make this decision during the operation.