Appendix: Scar-free surgery!

Appendicitis is a painful swelling of the appendix, a finger-like pouch that is connected to the large intestine. Appendicitis generally requires an urgent surgery to remove the appendix. It is located in the lower portion of the abdomen, on the right-hand side. The causes for appendicitis is not clear, although it's thought to occur when something like a small piece of feces, a foreign body or cancer that blocks the entrance of the appendix causes it to swell.

The procedure where your appendix can be removed through your mouth is called as the Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES). Yes, it is quite unbelievable, but doctors say that they can now remove a patient's appendix through their natural orifices like the mouth, rectum or vagina.

This technique offers multiple attractions or scar less surgery, fewer and smaller incisions, reduced pain and lower risk of infections, say the experts. Instead of cutting the skin, this new approach uses natural orifices as intestinal highways to access and remove or repair internal organs, the Daily Mail reported. The surgeon works with an endoscope, a long thin flexible tube which carries a light video camera and other equipment. This is then inserted into the appropriate orifice.

Symptoms of Appendicitis

• Dull pain near the navel or the upper abdomen that becomes sharp as it moves to the lower right abdomen
• Fever of 99-101 degrees Fahrenheit
• Abdominal swelling
• Nausea or vomiting soon after abdominal pain begins
• Loss of appetite, severe cramps
• Painful urination
• Constipation or diarrhea with gas