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Has your child has appendicitis l?

28 replies

ReallyATiger · 17/07/2021 23:21

If so....

A) How long were they unwell before you took them to hospital?

B) How long were they in A&E before being admitted?

C) How quickly did they operate?

D) Had it perforated or not?

Thanks x

OP posts:
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Hyacinth88 · 17/07/2021 23:23

Sent home from school at 1pm with stomach pains.
Next morning at 9am I took her to A and E. Appendix out at 1pm. Not inflamed.
Turned out she had bowel inflammation.

MegBusset · 17/07/2021 23:36

A) before the acute attack: months if not years of grumbling which we didn't recognise as the symptoms were so vague (episodes every few months of sudden vomiting, followed by pain in legs which eased off after a few days, then absolutely fine)

During the acute attack (Day 1): symptoms from 4am, called 111 and told to watch and wait. Contacted GP at 8am, who called back at 3pm, took him to surgery about 4pm and they directed us to hospital. They called ahead so we were directed straight to the ward rather than going to A&E.

B) Arrived at hospital around 5pm. After several hours under observation officially admitted at 1am (Day 2)

C) Monitored and kept nil by mouth morning of Day 2, told by several of the team that it wasn't looking like appendicitis. Sent for ultrasound which didn't show anything. Allowed to eat and drink in the afternoon. Kept in for another night's monitoring and further blood tests. At about midnight his temp started spiking and the bloods came back with inflammatory markers through the roof so told surgery is likely in the morning.

Day 3: First into surgery (about 9am).

D) Yes, it had ruptured. Whether before or after we got to hospital, they couldn't tell us. But the surgeon said it looked "very nasty" - op took 2.5hrs to get all the gunk out.

stillundecided · 17/07/2021 23:40

Two of mine have.

First child - took to hospital after about 12 hours. Waited another hour or so in A&E. operated on the following day. And no it hadn't perforated.

Second child - took to hospital after maybe 24 hours. Operated on after about 5 hours in hospital. Yes it had perforated and resulted in bowel problems meaning a further operation and 3 weeks in hospital.

ReallyATiger · 18/07/2021 00:05

Thanks for your responses, my DC has just had a perforated appendix removed and I’m trying to work out if her hospital treatment was standard...It had perforated and I’m pretty pissed off TBH that they took so long to act.

A) Vomiting for 2 days then pain on day 3, called GP who told us to go to A&E

B) Held in A&E for 7 hours despite triage, nurse and doctor all agreeing that it was appendicitis. Surgeon said it could possibly be but would need a scan to be sure. Chucked out of A&E bay for “emergency” back into packed waiting room. Clearly my DC wasn’t considered a big enough “emergency”. I’m pretty sure the emergency she was chucked out for turned out to be a non-emergency in the end.

C) Waited for scan but no scan available so operated on after 27 hours of arriving at hospital when I pointed out DC’s skin was yellowing.

D) Appendix had perforated.

When I questioned the length of time it took the hospital to deal with it, the surgeon basically implied I’d left it too long before taking her in and it could have already burst. Yes she’d been vomiting but I called the doctor and took her asap when she mentioned the pain. Photos from the OP have gone missing.

OP posts:
lastcall · 18/07/2021 00:12

@ReallyATiger

If so....

A) How long were they unwell before you took them to hospital?

B) How long were they in A&E before being admitted?

C) How quickly did they operate?

D) Had it perforated or not?

Thanks x

A) Went to bed with a sore tummy; woke up still hurting and couldn't straighten up. Other signs were similar to when my own appendix had gone, so took her in

B) A&E tried to boot us; I wasn't having it and refused to take her home. Demanded bloodwork. Bloodwork confirmed raging infection. Ultrasound also provided at that point and appendix could be seen (never a good sign).

C) That evening; things moved quickly after the bloodwork came back..

D) No, but gangrenous and ready to burst; surgeon said they got it out just in time. Still had to spend a week in hospital having intravenous antibiotics.

ReallyATiger · 18/07/2021 00:17

Or should I just be grateful for the fact that they’ve saved my child’s life despite them enduring hours of extra and unnecessary pain and discomfort and the resulting potential complications of it having perforated. I really just don’t know what to make of it all. 27 hours seems like a long time to take action for a child presenting with appendicitis.

The triage nurse came to see us on the ward and said she knew it was as soon as she saw that DC couldn’t stand up straight.

OP posts:
BlackSwan · 18/07/2021 06:58

27 hours is way too long and dangerous. Disgraceful. I assume you would have been pushing for more attention - sometimes despite advocating as best we can for our kids we are ignored. It stuns me that it's survival of the fittest even in hospitals. I would complain to try to ensure standards are improved.

mumonthehill · 18/07/2021 07:06

Ds 1- had severe pain, held in a and e for 14 hours as no bed, we were in the corridor. Operated on 20 hours after we arrived at the hospital.
Ds2 - vomiting and pain, operated on very quickly but discharged 16 hours after op and we had to go back in with an infection 1 week later. The second time at the hospital was not good at all.

ReallyATiger · 18/07/2021 09:34

BlackSwan

“27 hours is way too long and dangerous. Disgraceful. I assume you would have been pushing for more attention - sometimes despite advocating as best we can for our kids we are ignored. It stuns me that it's survival of the fittest even in hospitals. I would complain to try to ensure standards are improved.”

You’ve summed up entirely the way I feel, perhaps I could have been more pushy, especially in A&E but they were busy and at the time. As a non medically trained person, I naively assumed they were dealing with it with the appropriate urgency. I’m pretty pissed off that they let it get so bad, she’s really been through it.

When I questioned the length of time it took to deal with, the surgeon turned it on me and implied I brought her in too late....Yes she was vomiting for two days but I took her in as soon as I could when she told me she was in pain 🤷🏻‍♀️ She did that disapproving, staring-out thing and (thinking back on the surgeons thread from a few weeks ago), it feels like she was trying to pass the blame back to me in order to intimidate me into shutting up.

In fairness I think we are both at fault, I should have questioned and checked DC more closely but it really did seem like a nasty tummy bug (she’s always been fairly vomity).

Equally, as soon as she arrived, they should have seen she was already in a bad way and not delayed things a further 27 hours!

OP posts:
BlackSwan · 18/07/2021 11:47

Of course you didn't take her with vomiting only for a couple of days - you would likely have been sent home if that was the only symptom. But once it was clear to the hospital staff by their own admission that she had appendicitis they should have moved more quickly. Prolonging your daughter's pain and risking complications is negligent. Thank goodness she is ok - but that's not the point.

welshweasel · 18/07/2021 11:54

27 hours is certainly suboptimal but you have no idea what else was going on in theatres. I’ve sometimes had to delay appendicectomies due to more urgent cases needing to go first. It’s not ideal but you can only do what you can do with the resources available. Certainly ask the question, there may be a reasonable answer. Hope DC recovers quickly.

MegBusset · 18/07/2021 14:13

DS1's surgery was about 40 hours after being admitted. The consultants really weren't sure if it was appendicitis, they thought it was something else (can't remember the name) where glands around the stomach lining are infected and inflamed, apparently it presents very similarly to appendicitis.

Lauresbadhairday · 18/07/2021 16:07

I'm sorry for your experience OP. My DC experience was unfortunately similar although the delay was mainly before getting him to hospital. And please don't feel you could have done more - I'm a doctor and I was sure DC had appendicitis on Day 1 but still allowed myself to be fobbed off.

Took DC (5) to OOH after 24 hours of pain (it was a w/end) and sent home, started vomiting the next day so took to GP who said that he was 99.9% certain that it wasn't appendicitis, after another 24 hours in pain we took DC to OOH again and he was quickly admitted to the children's ward and seen by a junior doctor who wasn't sure if he had appendicitis but put him on the morning theatre list 'just in case'. DC was seen by Consultant Paediatrician next morning (so over 4 days after symptoms began) who recognised how ill he was and insisted that he was operated on immediately. His appendix had burst and he had peritonitis. He was very unwell and I am still upset/angry that it took so long to get the diagnosis and treatment he needed.

lastcall · 18/07/2021 17:24

@Lauresbadhairday

I'm sorry for your experience OP. My DC experience was unfortunately similar although the delay was mainly before getting him to hospital. And please don't feel you could have done more - I'm a doctor and I was sure DC had appendicitis on Day 1 but still allowed myself to be fobbed off.

Took DC (5) to OOH after 24 hours of pain (it was a w/end) and sent home, started vomiting the next day so took to GP who said that he was 99.9% certain that it wasn't appendicitis, after another 24 hours in pain we took DC to OOH again and he was quickly admitted to the children's ward and seen by a junior doctor who wasn't sure if he had appendicitis but put him on the morning theatre list 'just in case'. DC was seen by Consultant Paediatrician next morning (so over 4 days after symptoms began) who recognised how ill he was and insisted that he was operated on immediately. His appendix had burst and he had peritonitis. He was very unwell and I am still upset/angry that it took so long to get the diagnosis and treatment he needed.

I'm shocked at the arrogance of some A&E staff, frankly, when even a doctor can't get listened to about their own child.
BrieAndChilli · 18/07/2021 17:33

DS1 was 8 when he had his appendix out.

He was sick once on the Saturday and complaining of a sore stomach.
Sunday still sore but not sick again, we thought he had a bit of a tummy bug and was hurting as he wouldn’t eat anything
Sunday night sick again so kept him off school on the Monday. He was crying just occasionally saying his tummy hurt.

3am Monday morning he comes into our room saying tummy hurt, he looked ‘off’ so decided to take him in to A&E
He was operated on at 2pm as was bumped down the list due to another emergency.

It had burst when they operated and they had to cut some of his bowel lining away too and wash out his insides. Surgeon said it was the worst appendix he had seen for a long time.

Was on drip antibiotics for a few days and then he came home and had to have 2 different strong antibiotics 3 times a day. It was horrendous as they tasted awful and nothing would mask the taste. By the time I had got the 2 different ones down him it was nearly time for the next doses!

MyFloorIsLava · 18/07/2021 17:45

I'm an adult but when I went to A&E, triage sent me to their GP, who then sent me back to A&E, who xrayed me for some reason, then left me on a ward overnight for an ultrasound on my ovaries. It was about 30 hours after arrival before I was operated on and my appendix was about to go.

My nephew had appendicitis a few years ago and the hospital fucked around so much he ended up in ICU with sepsis and we genuinely thought we were going to lose him at one point.

Phillipa12 · 18/07/2021 19:39

Not my child but a child i used to nanny for. Taken to hospital with suspected appendicitis, hospital didn't operate straight away as were not sure despite both parents insisting it was appendicitis. Appendix eventually removed and 48 hrs later child was blue lighted to Leeds general infirmary as her bowel had twisted due to complications resulting from delayed surgery. Child was in hospital for 4 weeks. What's even more disturbing is that mum is a consultant anesthetist at this hospital and dad is a surgeon. Formal complaint made to the hospital and apologies issued along with recommendations for practice reviews.

Benjispruce5 · 18/07/2021 19:47

DD aged 4. Tummy ache and vomited at 9pm. Gave Calpol, slept all night. Next morning still a bit of an ache but watched tv and ate so I observed for a bit and noticed that she was holding her knees close. The pain settled in the right so I took her to out of hours as was weekend. Was sent home as not sure. Got worse so DH took her back 2 hrs later and phoned me to say he was going to A&E and to meet me there.
She had deteriorated, had a rapid heartbeat and they gave morphine. They did blood tests and said it wasn’t showing infection so observed on ward. At 11pm was examined again and advised surgery at 7am. It was sitting in pus when they removed it. She had 3 days in hospital with more antibiotics and some at home. Full recovery and is now 20. Still shakes me to think about that time. Wishing your child a quick recovery.

MargaretThursday · 18/07/2021 20:40

This was June last year so during lockdown. Dh was wfh.

A) How long were they unwell before you took them to hospital?
He had tummy ache that morning(7am), and didn't want to get up, but other than that was fine. I got home from work and he was still in bed, which was very unusual for him. He'd got a slight temperature, which was usual for him with any illness. Even more unusual he hadn't eaten anything. The only one of us who had been near people was me, and no one I'd been near had had any tummy bugs so I was immediately thinking of appendicitis.
I got home at 6pm, phoned the GP who said basically all they'd do was send me to A&E to check for appendicitis; it was unlikely they could rule it out. Told me to take an overnight bag. So I went straight down, was down there about 6:30pm/7pm. He started vomiting when he moved.

B) How long were they in A&E before being admitted?
never got into A&E. Because he had a covid symptom (temperature) we were sent straight up to the ward. The surgeons wanted to send him home because he said the pain was about 2/10 (he's got a very strong pain threshold, he never got above 4!), but the paediatricians said no, they were pretty certain it was appendicitis and put him straight on a drip. We were in a private ward (waiting covid test result) before 9pm, and told to expect him to be called first thing from 7am.

C) How quickly did they operate?
Now this is where it went a bit slow. We'd been told to be ready at 7am. However they got a number of emergencies in and he actually went down at 7pm. According to the hospital notes he'd deteriorated in that time. He was lying in bed watching the A-team.
I felt I was the one who deteriorated, as I wasn't allowed off the ward until the covid test came back and I was starving. I eventually persuaded one of the nurses to bring me something which was cold fish fingers. :D
He also was very pleased that he'd crossed something off his bucket list-having a drip in. He is a funny child! So he had a lot of conversations about the drip.

I was actually quite glad that he had been bumped when it came down to it. He arrived to a new surgical team, which was a good thing because the normal operation takes around an hour. His appendix was in the wrong place and twisted around. I was eventually told he was in recovery 4.5 hours later. So if they'd thought they could just squeeze him in at the end of a shift it could have been some very tired people by the end.
He was the only person in recovery, so they let me come. His only recollection of there was the nurse had a bottle of cola and didn't let him have some!! Grin

D) Had it perforated or not?
No, and they didn't think it was imminent either, it was swollen, but not badly.
If it had been during normal times I'd have assumed he had a tummy bug, as that's how he was presenting, and it would have been at least 24 hours longer I suspect before I'd have started to think there was more to it. They said we'd caught it nice and early.

Recovery was a bit rough though. He always reacts badly to anaesthetics, and takes ages to come round.
This time he woke at 6am the next morning, starving. So he ate 4 bowls of cereal. I woke at 7am, and he was beginning to flag. By 9am he was back to dozing totally, and his O2 went down etc. Couldn't get him to eat anything at all after that, and all he wanted to do was sleep.
The nurses were lovely and asked what he really wanted to eat as a treat and he said a cheese toasty and cola to drink. They got it for him, and he had about 2 bites of the sandwich and a mouthful of drink.

Having expected him to go home that day when I woke, they wouldn't even consider it until halfway through the next day when he managed a little to eat (yoghurt) and we got him up and moving (although he vomited when he first stood up).
And on the way out he got to cross another thing off his bucket list: he was taken down to the car in a wheelchair.

I haven't dared ask what else in on this bucket list. 🤣🤣🤣

lastcall · 18/07/2021 22:11

@Phillipa12

Not my child but a child i used to nanny for. Taken to hospital with suspected appendicitis, hospital didn't operate straight away as were not sure despite both parents insisting it was appendicitis. Appendix eventually removed and 48 hrs later child was blue lighted to Leeds general infirmary as her bowel had twisted due to complications resulting from delayed surgery. Child was in hospital for 4 weeks. What's even more disturbing is that mum is a consultant anesthetist at this hospital and dad is a surgeon. Formal complaint made to the hospital and apologies issued along with recommendations for practice reviews.
Again, shockingly poor treatment. Just shocking. Some A&Es clearly aren't fit for purpose.
ReallyATiger · 18/07/2021 23:04

Reading all of your stories has made me realise that appendicitis is rarely straight forward. However, I’m totally shocked that so many children are left for far far too long...it’s almost as if they’re not bothered about whether the appendix ruptures or not, they’ll just clean it up and pump in the antibiotics - but they’re gambling with our children’s lives!!

Phillipa12 😯 shocked that they ignored two medically trained parents who work at the same hospital!

In our case, the surgeon ignored a triage nurse, A&E nurse and A&E doctor. The triage nurse came to see us in the ward and said she knew straight away because she was hunched over and couldn’t stand up straight. In the last visit before surgery, it was a different surgeon who basically said yes it was and would need to be operated on ASAP.

Phillipa12 Do you remember what the symptoms were of the child’s bowel complications? DD has been vomiting (but thankfully held down liquid since 5am), she can’t eat at all as she still feels sick so I’m wondering if bowel complications could be the reason.

OP posts:
Codswallop20 · 19/07/2021 00:43

OP. Listen please.

DD age 9 at the time had a perforated appendix.

Operated and all well, recovery seemed ok for first couple of days.

Then she just bombed and I knew as a (very experienced and highly qualified nurse) that something was very wrong.

She started vomiting, but it was fecal matter. I told the drs it was a bowel obstruction and a medical emergency.

They told me it was not and it was paralytic illius

Codswallop20 · 19/07/2021 00:48

They were wrong and I was right and my little girl had a loop ileostomy as a result, we lived in hospital for over a month and her condition was critical.

If you are not listened to, kick up all holy hell. I let them persuade me and my child nearly died and had a year of hell with a stoma bag.

She's fine now but if I can change one thing for one person, DEMAND to see the consultant, DEMAND to see the matron, do not accept platitudes and get an abdo x-ray and ultrasound - with senior review - as a bare minimum.

Phillipa12 · 19/07/2021 20:01

I'm sorry ReallyATiger I don't. I just remember the call at 6.30am on a Sunday morning from the mum, she was in tears and said I need husband with me as dc was being transferred, could I come and look after their other dc. I arrived 30 mins later in my pj's and just told dad that I was packing dc a bag and he and their dogs were coming home with me and to just concentrate on their sick child. They knew how seriously ill she was, trust your instincts and be insistent.

BlackSwan · 20/07/2021 11:48

ReallyATiger how is your daughter doing?

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