Recovery from appendectomy

[yumscrumfatbum]

Wondering if anyone had any experience of recovery times following appendectomy after rupture. DD age 10 had emergency surgery a month ago for a complex messy rupture with adhesion to her bowel. She had the laproscopic proceedure, a surgical washout and drain for three days. A week later she was readmitted with a large abdominal absess which was allowed to drain naturally and treated with four days of IV antibiotics. All in all she has had five weeks of antibiotics which she finished four days ago. Surgeon was fairly vague about recovery time scales and although I can see improvements in terms of pain levels and appetite she remains very pale and exhausted. Clearly her body has been through a huge ordeal and I'm not expecting her to bounce back to normal. Really I'm looking for some reasurrance that she is progressing as expected from anyone who has experience of a similar scenario x

DH had emergency surgery for ruptured appendix, and was insurgery about 4 hours + subsequent infection.

He was completely pain free and digging the garden within a week (but he is a bit of an idiot)

Blimey fruit that's impressive!

Well the smell from an appendix rupture has to be smelt to be believed! Your poor dd. I know it's not nice but she's had all that pus and disgusting abscess in her body touching organs that don't like to be touched, plus the wash out and the drains etc. I'm not surprised she's feeling really ropey!

If it was pneumonia you'd be told probably 3 months to get back to health, if it was sepsis it can take a lot longer! Basically just take it slow and at her pace. All that nastiness can have a massive impact on her overall health. If she's still unwell and I mean actively feeling really rotten then I'd go back to your drs for a checkup in a few days?

She should start perking up soon. Hugs to you!

6-8 weeks, but depending on how much crap discharged into her abdomen could well be a few weeks more. It's worth getting your GP to check her over.

One of the children i used to nanny for had an apendectomy with complications, she was 8 at the time. Her parents were both in the medical profession and she ended up off school for 8 weeks and then phased return till she was fulltime with normal sporting activity by 12 weeks. As mum pointed out, the general public just view certain operations as standard and easily/quickly recoverable from, such as sections and apendectomys, in reality they are not at all, its major surgery. I hope your dd is feeling better and brighter soon and agree with pps about a check up with the gp.

Thank you all. She's five weeks post surgery tomorrow and in the last few days I really feel she has begun to turn a corner. A bit of colour in her cheeks and more her chatty self! It's only two weeks until half term and school are putting no pressure on her to return until she is ready. She is desperate to return so we re hoping to get her in for a couple of mornings in the last week. Newyoiker I can only imagine a ruptured appendix smells similar to a abdominal absess. The smell of that was something else !