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My daughter had an appendectomy 6 days ago. This evening ...

Sent to Health Experts May 2 2006 at 4:15 PM
   

My daughter had an appendectomy 6 days ago. This evening she began having severe somach pains in the middle of her stomach around her belly button. Do we need to take her back to the E.R.? How concerned should we be?

 

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Female , Age: 10

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Going to the bathroom. Mylanta

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
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Answer
May 2 2006 at 4:22 PM (7 minutes and 30 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark
She could "just" be experiencing gas pain. Has she been having bowel movements since the surgery?
Other more concerning cause of severe pain is peritonitis. This could have been caused by the appendix if it were ruptured prior to surgery, or it could be caused by an infection related to poor sterile technique or a leakage of bowel contents when the inflamed appendix was removed.
If you think she's been having regular bowel movements and if she has any fever, I would take her to the ED tonight.
Typical peritonitis pain is intense pain, fever, vomiting, weakness, rigid abdomen very sensitive to touch. If it's peritonitis, it can be fatal without timely antibiotic treatment.


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Judy -- Nurse -- 100% Positive Feedback on 876 Health Accepts
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Reply
May 2 2006 at 4:34 PM (11 minutes and 18 seconds later)
         
Reply to Judy's Post: Her appendix did not rupture, she has been having bowel movements, it was cultured when it was removed, the culture was negative, she has not had a fever since she left the hospital.
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May 2 2006 at 4:41 PM (7 minutes and 2 seconds later)
         
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Does she normally tolerate these things well? Is she excitable? Is this apparent level of pain different from what she's been having since discharge? I'm still worried about the severity of the pain as you describe it. Do any of the peritonitis descriptions fit with her pain?


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Judy -- Nurse -- 100% Positive Feedback on 876 Health Accepts
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May 2 2006 at 4:48 PM (6 minutes and 58 seconds later)
         
Reply to Judy's Post: She hasn't been overly upset about having the surgery or the recovery. She has never even cried about any of it. None of the descriptions really fit her pain. The pain that she is having now is different from what she has been experiencing since the surgery. Her pain has only been the pain expected at the incision site. This pain is more like the stomach ache she was originally experiencing before the pain moved to her right side causing her appendix to be removed. He appendix was very infected and large before being removed.
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May 2 2006 at 4:53 PM (5 minutes and 10 seconds later)
         
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I think she needs to be evaluated by someone that can physically examine the abdomen. Maybe a CT scan can tell whether there's a problem. She should also have a CBC to compare current status with the last white count before she left the hospital. If major increase, it points to infection. If she has infection, the single most important thing you can do is get her the antibiotics ASAP. People still die from peritonitis! If she doesn't have infection, then no harm done.


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Judy -- Nurse -- 100% Positive Feedback on 876 Health Accepts
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