Dr. Lee was born in Shanghai, China, and received his college and medical training in the United States. He is fluent in English and three Chinese dialects. He graduated with chemistry departmental honors from Harvey Mudd College. He was appointed president of AOA society at UCLA School of Medicine. He underwent internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The most frequent complication of appendicitis is perforation. Perforation of
the appendix can lead to a peri-appendiceal abscess (collection of infected pus)
or diffuse peritonitis (infection of the entire lining of the abdomen and the
pelvis). The
major reason for appendiceal perforation is delay in diagnosis and
treatment.
A less common complication of appendicitis is blockage of the intestine. Blockage occurs when the
inflammation surrounding the appendix causes the intestinal muscle to stop
working, and this prevents the intestinal contents
from passing. If the intestine above the blockage begins to fill with liquid and
gas, the abdomen distends and nausea and vomiting may occur. It then may be
necessary to drain the contents of the intestine through a tube passed through
the nose and esophagus and into the stomach and intestine.
A feared complication of appendicitis is sepsis, a condition in which
infecting bacteria enter the blood and travel to other parts of the body. This
is a very serious, even life-threatening complication. Fortunately, it occurs
infrequently.
The main symptom of appendicitis is abdominal pain. The pain is at first
diffuse and poorly localized, that is, not confined to one spot. (Poorly
localized pain is typical whenever a problem is confined to the
small intestine or colon, including
the appendix.) The pain is so difficult to pinpoint that when asked to point to
the area of the pain, most people indicate the location of the pain with a
circular motion of their hand around the central part of
their abdomen.
As appendiceal inflammation increases, it extends through the appendix to its
outer covering and then to the lining of the abdomen,
a thin membrane called the
peritoneum. Once the peritoneum
becomes inflamed, the pain changes and then can be localized clearly to one
small area. Generally, this area is between the front of the right hip bone and
the belly button. The exact point is named after
Dr. Charles McBurney--McBurney's point. If the appendix ruptures and infection
spreads throughout the abdomen, the pain becomes diffuse again as the entire
lining of the abdomen becomes inflamed.
Nausea and vomiting also occur in appendicitis and may be due to intestinal
obstruction.
Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix. Appendicitis often causes
fever, loss of appetite, and right lower
quadrant abdominal pain. Delay in surgery can result in appendix rupture with potentially serious complications.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
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