The Sandpoint newspaper article from 100 years ago read, “Appendicitis operations were performed this week at the City Hospital upon L.B. Johnson and Goldie Peterson, daughter of A.C. Peterson. Johnson so far recovered from his operation. Pneumonia developed in Miss Peterson after the surgery, but she is now recovering nicely.”

You and I know that thanks to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPAA) that health information couldn’t be public knowledge and certainly would not be considered newsworthy today.

According to the National Institutes of Health approximately 250,000 cases of appendicitis occur annually in the U.S. males have a higher prevalence for all age groups, but most commonly appendicitis occurs in the 10- to 19-year-old population.

“A life table model suggests that the lifetime risk of appendicitis is 8.6 percent for males and 6.7 percent for females; the lifetime risk of appendectomy is 12 percent for males and 23 percent for females.” A factoid that means that not all appendicitis is followed by surgery.

But, surgery is usually the order of the day. What’s happening? The Mayo Clinic explains that the appendix is a finger-shaped pouch that projects out from your colon on the lower right side of your abdomen. Appendicitis is when your appendix becomes inflamed and fills with pus.

So, here we have this small structure that has no apparent benefits to our bodies, but it sure can cause some problems, and it isn’t always clear why. Appendicitis can be caused by an obstruction of either food waste or fecal stone that blocks the opening of the cavity or follow an infection, such as gastrointestinal viral infection, or other types of inflammation.

Symptoms include an aching pain that starts around your belly button and moves down to your lower right abdomen. The pain will get sharper over a few hours and if you touch the spot it will be very tender or hurt like, well you know, and will get worse if you cough or even by just walking around.

You’ll be nauseous, vomiting, have a low grade fever, possibly be constipated and unable to pass gas and you’ll lose your appetite, go figure. You may also experience abdominal swelling.

If you have these symptoms, call your healthcare provider. If the pain is so severe that you can’t get comfortable you need immediate medical attention and should go to the emergency department of the hospital.

You’ve probably heard horror stories about ruptured appendixes and they can cause serious complications. If your appendix ruptures the content of

your intestines and infectious organisms can leak into your abdominal cavity causing an infection called peritonitis.

Also, if your appendix bursts the infection and seepage of intestinal contents may form an abscess which will require treatment before it tears, causing a more widespread infection of the abdominal cavity.

If you have these complications you’ll most likely have to have open surgery -- that’s the kind where they make an incision about 2 to 4 inches long. If you just have appendicitis without a rupture or abscess the surgeon most likely will remove your appendix laparoscopically.

That means that a few small abdominal incisions are made and the special surgical tools and a video camera is inserted into your abdomen to remove the appendix. This procedure allows you to recover much more quickly, although you will probably spend a day or two in the hospital.

Let’s hope this doesn’t happen to you, but being forewarned is to be forearmed and knowing the symptoms can make the difference between a fairly simple procedure and one that is health threatening.

Kathy Hubbard is a trustee on Bonner General Hospital Foundation Board. She can be reached at 264-4029 or [email protected]