Ruptured appendix recovery

[Ronan1970]

Good evening,
Can anyone help me with expected recovery from a burst appendix and peritonitis. My 9 year old spent 3 weeks in hospital in July with rupture and then an abscess which was drained. She has recovered well and now has a main symptom of sporadic pain in her abdomen. This comes and goes quite randomly. She was initially very tired but is now full of beans. I worry a lot about the pain even though it is usually easily controlled with meds. It frightens her as well as I think she is afraid of the hospital as she was readmitted with the abscess . Any reassurance gratefully received . The surgeon said it sometimes takes up to 2 years for a full recovery but he estimated that she should take about 6 months.This seems so long and my husband didn’t ask him why! I’d love to hear from anyone with experience of this and any tips or advice on how to help her (and me!) cope mentally and physically. I had thought appendicitis was a 3 day job!

DS had an appendiceal mass (not sure I’ve spelled it correctly). This was a burst appendix which developed into a mass which took up about a third of his stomach cavity. He was treated only by antibiotics as they felt it was too risky to operate while it was at peak mass, then it wasn’t needed as the infection had been killed off.
However, he was in hospital for 7 days, then had an instant access pass back for 6 weeks afterwards. We still have to be aware of the problem and make sure that he doesn’t have problems. He has never returned to totally normal, his toilet habits are ‘normal for him’. This is more than 10 years later!
The children who had keyhole appendix surgery were in and out in 48 hours! Definitely not the case for DS.

Watching with interest - I had an appendectomy just before Xmas and Im still completely exhausted. Mine didn’t burst but it was in a bad way and the op took 3hrs.

My daughter had keyhole surgery but the appendix had burst and she was in hospital for close to a week after the operation as she required i.v antibiotics. It took her another week at home resting to return to school. While in hospital she struggled with eating and it took her a long time to get over the fear / anxiety associated with the pain and emergency operation. I would say within a month she was totally back to normal.

I had my appendix out as an older teenager and remember it taking about the same timeframe. I didn’t have keyhole surgery though.

My daughter also had the pain which centred around her belly button. It continued for a few months after. It was over a year ago now and it’s no longer an issue.

As an adult. Five days in hospital. Open procedure. Peritonitis.
Five weeks off work. Prob should have had more. Was awful.

Thank you. How long did your pain last?

When I had my appendix out I had pain for a good few months after (not all of the time, but like your daughter, sporadic). I also got occasional sharp pains in the scar area.

GP said it was just everything internally healing/scar tissue forming. It's 16 years since I had mine removed and very occasionally, if I sneeze hard (for example) I still get a sharp pain in the scar - totally freaked me out at first as it can be very painful.

My c-section scar is the same -sometimes, the sharp pain literally takes my breath away!

I'm glad your daughter is recovering - appendix are awful when infected!

So helpful thanks to hear this

Peritonitis is very serious and not the same as an appendicitis’s op.

My daughter had a very nasty peritonitis 5 years ago and spent 3 weeks in ACU at the back of it. It was hell to clear the pockets of infection that developed after the op (one was crushing a lung, another looked as though her spleen had burst, etc.). Despite receiving amazing care from a crack team (long live the NHS!), it took a long time to find the right antibiotic which worked. Once that was done, she recovered fast and steadily. Within a few weeks of being discharged she was swimming again and has not had any problem with her recovery.

She was (and still is I suppose) traumatised by her experience and the pain she endured though and is since very attentive to any discomfort in her abdomen. Good luck to you and your daughter. It’s quite an ordeal to have gone through at such a young age.

I was the same age and experienced the exact same thing your daughter went through. It was truly hideous and took its toll on me. I wasn't myself for a few months.

Ds 18 burst his appendix and managed to get up to full fitness in just under 6 weeks to begin his scheduled army training date.
He has had no pain or issues at all.

I had appendicitis - they tried with keyhole but had to go open surgery as was too messy. A week in hospital, another two off work. Could have easily had more. Stood on the roof/scaffold of a building on my first week back and really shouldn’t have. It takes a good 6 weeks to recover.