Hear me out….do you think you could perform an appendicitis if you had to?

[Ettubrutus]

Let’s say you had 48hrs to practice

Plus a surgical dummy to practice on

And books (you don’t have the internet)

And all the equipment you’d need

AND the person is going to die if you DONT do it

a) Do you think you could pull it off?

*surgeons of MN please come and tell us if the average person could or not given the above

** you get an assistant to suction and stuff

Have you been watching Durrells?
🤣

No way. I'd probably puke before I'd got anywhere near the appendix, thus infecting them and killing them quicker. RIP appendicitis person, ur wiv teh angles now. 🙏 thoughts and prayers

Being an ex midwife I'd give it a fair go. What's the worst that can happen 😂

I've thought about this before - I'm a GP and so have a decent sense of the anatomy, and I've assisted at various operations as a junior doctor. I still think I'd need a massive amount of luck, as well as anaesthesia and all the usual surgical equipment including diathermy. I think I could probably get in safely and identify the appendix (with a big incision - wouldn't have a notion how to do it laparoscopically) but taking it off and repairing the bowel adequately would be very tricky.

(I do think that I could do a C section if required - I've assisted at a lot of these and they're relatively straightforward compared to other ops. I do not have any confidence that the average Joe Soap could do one safely, especially given the number of breathlessly uninformed "If Kate Middleton had twins, the surgeons would get to pick the next heir to the throne" articles that appeared around the time of her first pregnancy )

Probably not.

Not a hope. If they would die if I didn't try then I would try , but only if I were the absolute last available option, and if I had some level of practise. I find bodies interesting albeit gross so I think I could do a dissection but who knows, I've never been near one.
My dad had his out as a boy on their kitchen table, by his father, which horrified me, but then grandad was an actual surgeon. Imagine having to do that to your child.

I think I could. I trained (but didn't finish) as an ODP, so show me the basic surgery... and I would already know about aseptic technique etc.

A qualified doctor messed my operation up so I think most of MN could do a better job!!

Yes, I think I could remove the appendix, but I wouldn't be able to suture the site properly so the bowel contents would leak and the patient would die of peritonitis/sepsis even before the wound infection got them.

This! After 19 seasons of Greys anatomy I could do an 'appy' no worries!

I mean sure, as long as the book has a lot of pictures, but it wouldn't make any difference if there's no post surgical antibiotics

I struggle to cut carrots so I'm out

Surgeon Simulator. No appendix as far as I remember but it's pretty fun.

Who needs VR? 😃

I strongly doubt it.

I don't think I'd be a lot of use whatsoever in a post apocalyptic scenario tbh 😕

I’d give it a go and reckon I’d be pretty good at it.

If someone was going to otherwise die, yes. If not, no way.

Yes, but I’m a vet,so do often enter/resect bowels when animals have eaten string/corncobs/toys/socks etc.

would I be allowed anaesthetics and iv fluids?
iv antibiotics?
sterile instruments?
monofilament absorbable suture?

tbh, all the people who think you can watch enough medical dramas, its always a surprise when you first put instruments and suture materials in a students hands. It’s a bit like learning to knit for the first time.

You could be food

Haha that's quite a thought. I had c sec with my twins and no2 had to be removed with forceps,no way he's have snuck past no1

I mean, how difficult can it be? What else is down there? Bowels and ovary close by but nowt else? I've got a hand tremor so I'd need a good drink or two first. Damn right id give it a try in an emergency.

I've stopped reading on page one after seeing references to spoons. Duck that, die quietly and quickly folks

Oh hell no! I would just tell them sorry, no bed available today.

Not if it's in need of removal, you can't.

And haven't you seen the comments on threads about how disgusting Andouile sausages are? Necrotic human chitterlings don't really appeal to me - I'd be out with a harpoon gun chasing down Penguins first.

No I’m not sure . I feel it’d be like when you decide that £80 is excessive for a new phone screen and you realise a screen is only a tenner on amazon and you think ah how hard can it be , I’ll just watch YouTube. And then you’re sat there with ninety billion microscopic screws and no recollection of how it all fits back together.

With advanced warning and a book, definitely. Well, sort of definitely 😬 I’m looking down at where my appendix is now kind of thinking ‘yeah, doable’!