My Florida vacation

[dannubis]

Good to hear everything is OK !

And good on you for taking travel insurance.

[DanS]

Good to hear that all went well and good luck on the recovery. There are worse places to have this kind of thing happen.

who buys trip insurance?

Exactly my reaction. But as with any insurance, if you can cover the possible expense with savings, you shouldn't buy the insurance. If you can't cover it, then buy the insurance. There are lots of potential health care expenses in the US that would dwarf even Flubber's fat wallet.

[Ecofarm]

The appendix did not rupture prior to surgery, right? Assuming so (the operation would not have been 8 hours later if it had ruptured), he'll be fine.

Mine ruptured before I had surgery (peritonitis) and I woke up days later. Stupid pain tolerance.

[Asher]

You have to be remarkably stupid to spend any extended amount of time in the USA without trip insurance. All it takes is a trip to the hospital to bankrupt you.

What a ridiculous ****ing healthcare system.

Flubber's foresight

[Flubber]

The surgeon says he thinks it burst as early as Friday based on the pus and inflammation he saw. He said some kids don't experience huge pain and deals with a fair number of these--in fact he said he did 5 burst or perforated
appendixes this past weekend so it's not at all uncommon

[Ecofarm]

I think ruptured/burst appendixs are uncommon. A ruptured appendix is a dangerous surgery. The scars from peritonitis are inches long, the scars from a simple removal are tiny. When it ruptures, one must be pinned open like a frog and vacuumed. The pain after rupture is amazing; within a couple hours of rupture, I lost feeling in my arms and legs and had tunnel vision nearly to the point of blindness before the emergency surgery began (no pain killers allowed prior to emergency surgery and it took them ~an hour to prep the table after I got to the ER). I was ~18 years old.


Perhaps there is such a thing as a minor rupture? Dunno. My scar is ~6 inches long, I had a drainage tube from by abdomen for weeks. Perhaps mine burst, not ruptured, and this is a matter of semantics.

[Ecofarm]

x2 post

[Ben Kenobi]

My father ruptured his. Not a good situation. Glad to here that kiddo is well and that everything went ok.

And I'm one of the folks who bought trip insurance to the USA.

[Flubber]

I think ruptured/burst appendixs are uncommon. A ruptured appendix is a dangerous surgery. The scars from peritonitis are inches long, the scars from a simple removal are tiny. When it ruptures, one must be pinned open like a frog and vacuumed. The pain after rupture is amazing; within a couple hours of rupture, I lost feeling in my arms and legs and had tunnel vision nearly to the point of blindness before the emergency surgery began (no pain killers allowed prior to emergency surgery and it took them ~an hour to prep the table after I got to the ER). I was ~18 years old.


Perhaps there is such a thing as a minor rupture? Dunno. My scar is ~6 inches long, I had a drainage tube from by abdomen for weeks. Perhaps mine burst, not ruptured, and this is a matter of semantics.

he has two small incisions as apparently they do the whole thing laprascopically. Talking to Florida people at the hospital I have had a few mention the big incisions they required but they also talk about how world class the pediatric surgeons are here. No surprise that the peds units next to Disney would be top notch. Perhaps they have new or better techniques? How long ago was your surgery?

Oh and while ruptures/perfs are pretty rare in adults, it's more common in kids. Our surgeon said fully half the younger kids they see are already perforated and that he blames all the attractions. Younger kids in particular will ignore a fair bit of discomfort if it means leaving. Also apprently not everyone has the same pain levels you did. As for types of ruptures/perforations/bursting , I have heard all 3 words used but my understanding is that regardless of the word used it ultimately means the same thing-- an infected or inflamed appendix is no longer intact and needs to be removed-- and since it is not intact, they essentially need to wash the abdominal cavity with antibiotic fluids. I believe this is equally true if there is a small leaking hole as when the appendix is almost torn in half.

Bottom line for my son is that he has two very small incision sites and now we are waiting to see if he develops an abcess anywhere in the abdominal cavity. Our docs say there is a 25% chance of that happening and they will start looking for an abcess of his fever does not come down by 6th day post-op. They say that 4 days of fever is normal and expected.

[Ecofarm]

So he was perhaps slightly leaking then, I gather. Still sounds more serious than a basic removal. I've never heard of this "waiting to see if there is an abcess" (I had a tube that allowed fluid to leak from my ab for a couple weeks or so, and a nurse came to the house regularly to attend it) and did not know it was different for children and adults.

In adults, and basic removal, the scar is very small because it is a simple removal of the organ. If the organ has burst prior to the surgery (rare in adults), however, the scar is large because the ab cavity must be "vacuumed" (as I understood, not just washed). It's not that my doc was sloppy with the incision, it's that he had to do alot of vacuuming.

I guess a leak requires only a little vacuuming, which can be done with scopic tools and a minor incision.


I don't like the fever. I'd want x-rays to make sure the docs didn't leave something in there, I suppose I'm a bit paranoid.


My surgery was 1989, at a geriatric hospital with a general physician (the closest thing with an operating table from the school). I was transported by school security vehicle because there was not time for an ambulance (my appendix was ruptured as I sat in the clinic awaiting a white-blood cell test). In the hour or so it took them to prep the OR, I experienced some pretty amazing pain (not that the hours of prelude to the rupture was fun either, but it was endurable). They say I was about 20 minutes from dead when they put the mask on me at the OR.

[Flubber]

They are planning a ct for later in the week to check things.
Most ruptures are just small pinholes.
He was suctioned same as you. They can take an intact appendix out through a small incision so suctioning up excess fluid and pus after an antibiotic wash is relatively easy.
My wife, you know the ICU nurse, confirms that abcess is apossible complication when you know you have had bacteria from the appendix through the cavity

No drains required.

[Flubber]

Oh and I wonder how you would have been 20 minutes from dead? There is supposed to be little or no bleeding and the bacteria in the cavity would apparently not KILL you for quite some time

[Ecofarm]

Toxic shock. Tunnel vision, no feeling in extremities...

My appendix ruptured (perhaps read: burst), ~2 hours before they put me to sleep for the surgery. I had been in severe pain for perhaps 12 hours before and been to the clinic twice about it prior to the 8am visit when they took a white blood-cell count and sht their pants. I was so late, I was (later) told there was only about a 30% success rate. Thankfully, when they put me to sleep I thought it was routine and was sure I'd be waking in the morning.

A general physician at a geriatric hospital performed the emergency surgery successfully after preping a table that had not been used in I don't know how long; no complaints here. It's probably the closest I've been to death (and I've done some reckless stuff). I actually managed to stand and take the x-ray with no feeling and a tiny hole of vision. I actually managed to stand for the x-ray with no feeling and a tiny spot of vision. I remember asking the nurse "how can I get off the gurney for an x-ray when I can't feel my legs and I can barely see?".




Early during the prep, I had to take a catheter (couldn't pee for a test) without even an aspirin (emergency surgery = no drugs) and didn't feel a thing. T'was later I got the tunnel vision and lost feeling in my arms and legs (I noticed while they tried to stand me for x-rays). I remember asking the nurse, "how can I stand for an x-ray when I can't feel my arms or legs and I can't really see anything?".


When I woke up days later, my mother and a girlfriend from highschool (not the one I married) were in my room. I remember her begging me to open my eyes, and I said that I already had (I lied); then they asked "ok, if you did, then what is on TV". I had heard the credits and answered correctly "inspector gadget". They were then happy and let me sleep another day or so. I was in intensive care, and remember the beep beep machine with the inspector gadget credits. It sucked when they finally took the tubes from my nose to my stomach; I probably should have slept for that.

[DirtyMartini]

are you sure it wasn't done by one of your fellow castaways on the beach while you watched in a mirror?

[Ecofarm]

I was at Stetson University, aiming for their Law School at St. Petersberg. Not exactly beach castaways.