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Appendectomy - Recovery

Alternative Names

Appendix removal

After the Procedure:

Patients tend to recover quickly after a simple appendectomy. Most patients leave the hospital in 1 - 2 days after surgery. You can go back to your normal activities within 2 - 4 weeks after leaving the hospital.

Patients who have the appendix removed through small surgical cuts tend to recover and get back to their daily activities faster.

Recovery is slower and more complicated if the appendix has broken open or an abscess has formed.

Living without an appendix causes no known health problems.

  • Reviewed last on: 5/6/2011
  • Shabir Bhimji, MD, PhD, Specializing in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Wolfe JM, Henneman PL. Acute appendicitis. In: Marx JA, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2009:chap 91.

Howell JM, Eddy OL, Lukens TW, Thiessen ME, Weingart SD, Decker WW; American College of Emergency Physicians. Clinical policy: Critical issues in the evaluation and management of emergency department patients with suspected appendicitis. Ann Emerg Med. 2010;55:71-116.

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