Adult DS prob has appendicitis - what should I expect?

[Tulipomania]

He is 22, and is currently waiting in a hospital in London for it to be confirmed before he probably has surgery.

We are 2 hours away.

I have told him we will pick him up and bring him home to look after (he was planning to come home for Xmas this weekend anyway).

How long is recuperation nowadays?
Will he be able to drive?

Anyone been through this recently with useful advice please?

Its keyhole surgery. He should have some small surgical sites that may need caring for by his GP nurse.

He should be ok with a few painkillers and rest and good motherly care!

Ds1s friend had appendicitis diagnosed on the Sunday night, operated on early Monday. He was back at school the following Monday with usual advice to take it easy etc. His was infected too. It's much easier recovery than the old days of open surgery.

I had my appendix out with keyhole surgery. Hardly any incision at all, you could hardly see the two points at which they went into the stomach. It is pretty straightforward. I was released from hospital the following day but given a 5 day course of tramadol. Felt a bit whoozy for a few days from the general anaesthetic for about a week and a bit away with the fairies but that is normal and it wore off within a week.

I didn't have any problems moving around afterwards painwise. It wont be any pain that stops him driving - it would be the after effects of the general anaesthetic etc afterwards. I drove after about 4 days.

Ds 14 had his out this time last year and was in hospital for 24 hours. Key hole surgery so tired and sore but it was ok. Older ds had his out at 19 and was in hospital for 3 days, he was also quite sore but felt better within 7 days. He might need a bit of TLC!!

I had mine out at 24. It was meant to be keyhole but it was so infected they had to do a bigger incision as well. I could walk around ok, getting up and down and turning over in bed was a bit more painful. I think I could drive after a week - they said I could decide when I was ready

When DH had appendicitis they tried to do keyhole but failed so had to "go in" fully so to speak. The recovery was quite a long time for that and he couldn't drive or lift anything for about 6 weeks afterwards.

So it really a lot depends on if they manage to do it keyhole or not

Had mine out in August as was able to go home by taxi within 12 hours. Didn't drive for a week, but probably could of. Pain was manageable. I rested where I could but with small kids and unwell husband I didn't get much chance.

My son had his out last year. Good recovery - very small incisions. A good tip for standing up from sitting is to hold a cushion on the incision as you get up. But the worst part was definitely pre op as he was in so much pain. No infection after and stitches were dissolvable

I hope they manage to do it keyhole OP, if so the recovery should be straightforward. All the best to you and him

The recovery will be quicker if its keyhole. My DC could not have keyhole and it took them about 2 weeks to recover enough to go back to school.

Keyhole is quite quick but might feel uncomfortable for a while.

Mine at same age was a total mess, full surgery, spent a week in hospital and long recovery.

So I would just see how he is basically! Can you go down and be nearby while he has surgery? I know he's an adult, but friendly faces and knowing you are cared about is always welcome.

I have a 4cm scar after a 4 day hospital stay with appendicitis and removal. Was excruciating afterwards for a week, I couldn't have driven (safely) for a fortnight.

He's likely been feeling like shit for a few days, maybe vomiting too. Nice big home-cooked 'mum special' - whatever yours is - will do him the world of good.

I had complications and needed a second surgery so was in hospital for 12 days but that is far from the norm. I was released without painkillers (as paracetamol were doing the job) and would say by day 4 of being home I was up and about doing most things just tired, and by day I was completely fine.

I couldn't lift heavy things for 6 weeks or exercise but other than that I was fine.

If he has keyhole surgery I would imagine we will be feeling pretty much fine by Christmas to be honest!

If it's standard and done keyhole, he will recover fairly well - 3-4 days of significant pain and bruising but not a lot more. He needs to take guidance on driving though as general anaesthetic takes a while to fully disappear from your system. DD2 had hers out in April and recovered well despite fibromyalgia - she was 18.

If they can't go keyhole he will be in hospital longer and take longer to recover.

DS (13yo) had appendicitis in summer 2020.

Roughly: they couldn't do keyhole because that involves puffing up by air which was a covid aerosol risk. I don't know if that's changed.

He was admitted at around 10:30pm on Thursday. There was an arguement between the surgeon who said it wasn't appendicitis (partially because ds was saying his pain was a 4/10 maximum) and the paediatrician who was saying it definitely was.

I was told to expect surgery first thing Friday at 7am.
Despite (I have on his notes) that he'd notably deteriorated overnight, emergencies bumped him all day so eventually he went for the op at 7pm.
His appendix was in the wrong place and twisted, so it took 4-5 hours to get it out.

The next day they wanted to get him moving and out of bed, and said if he could get up then he'd go home. By lunch time it was clear that he wasn't going anywhere (he doesn't recover from general anaesthetic well).
The next day they said he needed to get moving or there could be other complications, so we got him up (he vomited when he was up initially) and then got him home where he lay in bed for a couple of days.
After that he was sore, but very proud of his scar!

I'm another keyhole failure, a week in hospital post op, and no driving for 6 weeks.

Consultant was adamant its not the driving that's the issue, its the STOPPING, you won't be able to do Emergency Stop if you need to.

Thanks all, on the whole quite reassuring!

He is just waiting for a PCR test result before he goes into surgery; so there's no time & not much point me travelling up to the hospital now. Surgeon has promised to call me when it's all over, and hopefully he will be allowed to go home tomorrow and we can scoop him up then and give him lots of TLC.

I hope everything goes well for your DS and fingers crossed he is home tomorrow!

I know it's hard but try not to worry too much

If it’s keyhole he should be fine. I had appendicitis a couple of years ago when I had a 1 year old and a newborn and I was completely back to normal and looking after them alone 1 week after the surgery. I was quite sore for the first 3 days but after that was fine really. Hope all goes ok for your son.

Thanks everyone. He had surgery at 9 pm last night and seems to be quite chipper this morning.

We are waiting to find out when we can bring him home.

Really appreciate the support on here - I know it's just a small straightforward op but I tend to be a bit of a worrier.

Great news OP!

Excellent news, OP. So glad it all went well.