Q: Can you please tell me an alternative for treating appendix other than surgery? I have heard that appendix can be removed with new techniques like those used in treating stones. What is the safest method?

A:The appendix is an 8-cm, wormlike organ in the right lower abdomen. It does not need to be removed unless it is diseased. If the appendix is diseased, treatment may be by medicines or by operation. Treatment by medicines has the following risks: a. Threat to life from burst appendix: 10% b. Side effects from medicines: 1% Treatment by operation has the following risks: a. Threat to life from complications of the operation: 0.001% b. Infection requiring dressings for a week: 10% c. Hernia 1% Since operation is ten thousand times safer than treatment with medicines, all doctors advise removal of a diseased appendix. Operation may be of two types: 1. Through a 6-cm long incision and 2. Through three or four 1-cm holes (laparoscopic surgery). Both types of operation are equally safe. The recovery after laparoscopic surgery is slightly quicker.