Inflammation of the appendix is not a dangerous disease if you seek medical help on time, of course. But this ailment has complications that can cause a threat to life. For example, gangrenous appendicitis. This is necrosis of the tissues of the appendix of the cecum, the consequences of which can be very serious.
Causes of gangrenous appendicitis
Acute gangrenous appendicitis occurs in the event that the inflammation of the appendix has gone unnoticed for more than 24 hours and tissue and gangrene died off. Because of this, the nerve endings lose sensitivity and the pain stops. As a result, there is a high probability that a person will come to the doctor for help later, feeling relief, the patient will decide that the danger has passed. And this is the most serious mistake - the disease can develop into a gangrenous-perforated appendicitis, as a result of which the content of the appendix splits into the peritoneum and peritonitis begins.
In order to prevent such an outcome, you need to contact the hospital immediately after you have the following symptoms:
- sharp pulling pains in the right ileal region, even if they have gone through several hours;
- nausea and vomiting, not bringing relief;
- dizziness;
- cardiopalmus;
- elevated temperature.
A timely operation will prevent gangrenous appendicitis with peritonitis.
Consequences of gangrenous appendicitis
As we have already said, the consequences of the disease can be very unpleasant - without the timely removal of the inflamed appendix, the patient is threatened:
- intoxication of the body ;
- blood poisoning;
- suppurative abscesses of the abdominal cavity;
- thrombophlebitis;
- the formation of tumors and even death.
And the danger of gangrenous appendicitis lies precisely in the fact that necrosis, which killed nerve endings, makes diagnosis very difficult. Even a blood test does not always help to identify the disease. In elderly people, gangrenous appendicitis can develop after a catarrh infarct, in which case the disease is more difficult to detect - the pain syndrome is absent initially, as is the fever. Fortunately, a heart attack of the appendix is very rare.
Gangrenous appendicitis and postoperative period
If you have gangrenous appendicitis, the postoperative period may be different in time. It depends on the stage at which the operation was performed. If the patient appealed for help within 3 hours after the onset of pain, recovery will take 2-3 days and will not differ from the regime after usual appendectomy. In the event that perforation has begun, but the appendix has not managed to get into the peritoneum, conservative treatment will be carried out, which can take from several weeks to a month. Appendicitis with peritonitis requires bed rest and a strict diet for 3-4 weeks.
The patient is recommended to abandon food of animal origin, fat, sweet and baking. You need to eat a lot
For several months after the operation, the patient who underwent gangrenous appendicitis can not lift the weight and do hours of work. At the same time, it is not recommended to severely restrict physical mobility, exercise therapy, walking and long stay in the fresh air are shown.