General Surgeon with fellowship from the Colleges of Medicine South Africa, masters from Stellenbosch University, South Africa and Military Officer of Ghana Armed Forces. Strong interest in Surgical Intensive Care, Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.
Luminal obstruction has been widely considered as one of the major causes of appendicitis. Faecolith, in this case called appendicolith, is a hardened lump of faeces in varying sizes, have over the years been closely associated with appendicitis as a potential cause of luminal obstruction. There are varying opinions with regards to role of appendicolith in both uncomplicated and complicated acute appendicitis. While some authors have reported that the presence of appendicolith is a predictive factor for high failure rates, others are of the opinion that appendicolith does not necessarily predict non-operative treatment failure, and even if so, not as an independent factor. Opinions also seem to be divided on the correlation between complicated appendicitis and the presence of appendicolith. This chapter seeks to discuss the evidence available and attempt to clarify the controversies surrounding the role of appendicolith in acute appendicitis using current evidence available.
Part of the book: Doubts, Problems and Certainties about Acute Appendicitis