How removing your appendix can be a thing of the past: experts claim only antibiotics can treat a life-threatening infection of organs
- An appendectomy is one of the most common procedures performed by the NHS
- Researchers say the only risk of not operating is appendicitis returning later
Surgery to remove the appendix could soon be a thing of the past.
Swedish experts claim that appendicitis – when the mysterious, worm-shaped organ becomes infected – can be effectively treated with antibiotics.
It could mean the end of appendectomy, one of the most common procedures performed by the NHS.
Rapid removal of the appendix has been standard treatment for over a century.
But researchers at the Karolinska Institute argue that the only risk of not operating and relying on antibiotics is another flare-up of appendicitis.
Swedish experts say the only risk of not operating and relying on drugs instead is recurrent appendicitis. Their analysis of evidence showed that less than half of patients treated with antibiotics relapsed
The researchers, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, used data from two randomized controlled trials in the Swedish National Patient Registry. Pictured: Stock image highlighting the location of an inflamed appendix
The findings come amid subtle push to reduce NHS hospital costs and the number of procedures carried out by the health service.
In the journal JAMA Surgery, the team wrote, “The current data will further benefit both clinicians and patients as they make a treatment decision.”
Experts analyzed two separate studies, which assessed the outcomes of 292 patients hospitalized with appendicitis.
The condition, which causes stomach pain that travels to the lower right side, can be life-threatening without prompt treatment.
Forty patients were divided into two groups as part of the first study. Half received an appendectomy.
The others received antibiotics for 10 days and all but one recovered successfully.
Meanwhile, the success rate was 86 percent in the second, larger study.
When the results of both studies were pooled, it revealed that 40 percent of patients treated with antibiotics later developed a appendectomy.
The researchers wrote: ‘More than half of the patients treated non-surgically did not recur and avoided surgery for about two decades.
“There is no evidence for long-term risks of nonoperative management other than that of recurrence of appendicitis.”
However, they noted that the diagnostic standards of surgery at that time differed from today.
Physicians are now performing “much higher imaging rates,” she added, meaning fewer patients are being misdiagnosed with appendicitis.
The NHS says around 50,000 people in England are hospitalized with appendicitis every year.
Approximately 11.6 million cases of appendicitis are reported annually in the US.
If left untreated, the condition can be fatal.
During surgery, the appendix is removed from the body after doctors make three or four small incisions in the abdomen.
The cuts are closed with staples or stitches.
After routine surgery, most patients can go home the next day and return to normal after a week.
But as with any surgery, there are risks. About one in ten patients experience side effects from the operation itself, such as contracting a skin infection.
In recent years, several European studies have shown that most people with appendicitis can be successfully treated with antibiotics rather than surgery.
Seven years ago, experts declared it was “time to consider” forgoing routine appendectomy.
Hundreds of children have their organ removed unnecessarily every year.