health Lifestyle

Bodyweight Balance

10/4/2024

health Lifestyle

Transcript

00:00In April 1961, the 6th Soviet Antarctic Expedition took a harrowing turn.

00:07Dr. Leonid Rogozov, the team's only physician,

00:11began feeling weak and feverish,

00:14with an excruciating pain in his right side.

00:18After a few days, it became clear that he had appendicitis,

00:23an infection that can cause the appendix to break.

00:27An infection that can cause the appendix to burst.

00:31And Rogozov knew that if his appendix did rupture,

00:35it would likely kill him.

00:37Outside, a blizzard raged,

00:39making it dangerous for him to leave the station

00:42or to have anyone else travel in.

00:45So Rogozov faced a gut-wrenching choice.

00:49Wait for help that may never come,

00:52or cut open his own abdomen and remove the appendix himself.

00:57While Rogozov's predicament may have been extreme,

01:01appendicitis is not uncommon.

01:04It affects roughly 1 in 12 people.

01:07So, what causes appendicitis?

01:10And why is this organ so prone to bursting?

01:15The appendix is a small, worm-shaped pouch

01:18attached to the large intestine that houses a diversity of gut microbes.

01:24Scientists long speculated that it was a useless artifact of evolution.

01:29Recent evidence shows that this organ independently evolved

01:33in many different mammals.

01:35This suggests that it probably has some function,

01:39though it's likely subtle.

01:41One possibility is that the appendix serves as a reservoir

01:45for healthy gut bacteria.

01:47Or it may play a role in mounting immune responses.

01:52What we do know is this puzzling organ can cause serious complications.

01:58Most cases of appendicitis start with some sort of obstruction.

02:03For example, a small, dried piece of stool, called an appendicolith,

02:08can lodge itself in the organ's entrance.

02:11Other times, pathogens like viruses or parasites

02:15activate the immune system, causing inflammation.

02:19This immune response may even be triggered

02:22by one of hundreds of species of bacteria that normally reside in your gut.

02:27As a result, nearby lymph nodes swell,

02:31effectively closing off the appendix's opening.

02:34Because the appendix is a closed loop,

02:37when it's sealed, pressure builds quickly.

02:40This creates the perfect environment for bacteria to colonize and overgrow.

02:46As the inflamed appendix bloats, discomfort sets in,

02:50and this pain is different from your everyday stomachache.

02:54It typically starts near the belly button,

02:56and then migrates to the lower right abdomen and intensifies.

03:02If left untreated, the appendix can continue to stretch,

03:06hindering blood flow and weakening the organ walls.

03:09Eventually, this can cause the appendix to rupture,

03:12allowing the infection to spread within the abdomen,

03:15where it can pose fatal consequences.

03:18Thankfully, not all cases of appendicitis will lead to a rupture,

03:23but it's impossible to know exactly when or if

03:27the appendix will burst from symptoms alone.

03:30So it's recommended that all people with severe abdominal pain

03:35seek immediate medical attention.

03:37Since doctors first identified appendicitis in the late 1800s,

03:42an appendectomy, or the surgical removal of the appendix,

03:46has been the standard treatment.

03:49It's normally performed quickly, within 24 hours of diagnosis.

03:54Doctors remove the inflamed organ, which can double in size,

03:58either through one large incision or through several smaller incisions,

04:03using a camera and small instruments.

04:05Recovery is typically quick,

04:07and most patients are discharged within a day or two.

04:11Though, if the appendix has burst,

04:13surgery can be more extensive, as any bacteria and pus

04:18need to be thoroughly cleaned from the abdominal cavity.

04:22In the long term, living without an appendix

04:25is unlikely to lead to any health issues.

04:28Today, thanks to medical advances, many patients avoid surgery altogether.

04:34Doctors have learned that appendicitis can often be treated

04:37with a simple course of antibiotics,

04:40started in the emergency room and continued at home.

04:44No matter the chosen course of treatment,

04:46it's likely to be less distressing than Rogozov's,

04:50who, after giving himself local anesthesia,

04:53removed his own appendix, stitched himself up,

04:57and resumed his regular duties just two weeks later.

05:01Nevertheless, thanks to his story, doctors on remote stations in Antarctica

05:06now know to bring plenty of antibiotics to treat appendicitis, just in case.

05:31www.ottobock.com

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