Can it still be appendix?

I had an appendix operation three years ago and in the last six months, I have been having pains around the same area. I have seen two doctors and done several scans and I was shocked that the diagnoses still showed appendicitis. What happened? Does it regrow? What do I do now? – Alex

Appendix cannot reoccur provided the operation was done and properly too. In a woman, there are other organs around the appendix region that can mimic appendicitis. These include ovarian cysts; especially complicated ones, haemorrhagic cysts and pelvic inflammatory diseases with right hydrosalpinx.

In both men and women, ureteric problems could also mimic appendix. Also, adhesions from a previous surgery can also be mistaken for appendicitis.

Despite the above, I have seen where a quack was said to have carried out appendectomy but actually he didn’t. He just put the patient to sleep, cut the skin and stitched back. We had to do another operation and we found an obviously inflamed appendix. So I will like to know whether it was a professional or a quack that performed the operation.

If the pains and other symptoms persist, an exploratory laparotomy will resolve the matter.