Acute Appendicitis during Pregnancy.

, Ahn, Dae Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Coloproctology 1997;13(3):509-516.

Department of General Surgery, Pundang-Cha Hospital.

Abstract

Acute appendicitis is the most common reason for non-obstetric abdominal surgery during pregnancy. The diagnosis of appendicitis in pregnancy is difficult due to the blunting of signs and symptoms during pregnancy along with a migration of appendiceal location. When appendicitis in pregnancy is suspected, the physician must balance the risk of delaying surgery and incurring the morbidity of delay against acting hastily and performing unnecessary surgery. Eleven patients who underwent appendectomy during pregnancy from April 1995 through February 1997 were reviewed. Seven patients were proven to be acute appendicitis at laparotomy and by subsequent histopathology. There were no significant differences between patients with positive and negative laparotomies regarding frequency of presenting symptoms and signs or laboratory results. Two cases of preform(25 and 31 weeks) deliveries occurred, one with a perforated appendicitis and the other with negative laparotomy.

Key Words: Appendicitis; Pregnancy