Appendicitis During Pregnancy: Best Surgical Practices and Clinical Management

Abstract

Appendicitis is a common abdominal surgical emergency. However, treatment becomes more complex when the patient is pregnant. It is important to consider the diagnostic differences in pregnant and non-pregnant patients, as well as the changes to surgical and non-surgical management. Commonly, appendicitis in pregnancy is diagnosed with radiographic imaging, preferably ultrasound or MRI. Due to increased risk with delay to surgery, surgical management is recommended, as opposed to non-operative management, and ultimately a laparoscopic appendectomy is the surgery of choice. We aim to provide a comprehensive review of the best practices and clinical management of appendicitis in pregnancy.

Keywords:

• appendicitis
• pregnancy
• appendectomy
• surgery
• laparoscopic

Disclosure

Dr Aurora Pryor reports personal fees from Gore, Medtronic, and Stryker, during the conduct of the study. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.