Women needlessly having their appendix out in almost one in three cases

Women are having their appendixes removed wrongly in nearly a third of cases, British research suggests.

Researchers said too many female patients were being put under the knife when they should have undergone investigations for period pain, ovarian cysts or urinary tract infections. They said the study, which compared practices in 154 UK hospitals with those of 120 in Europe, suggests that Britain may have the highest rate of needless appendectomies in the world. 

Surgeons said they were particularly concerned by the high rates among women, with 28% of operations found to be unnecessary. 

They said the NHS was too quick to book patients in for surgery, when further scans and investigations should have been ordered. 

Researchers warned that such operations put patients at risk of complications, as well as fuelling NHS costs.

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Source: The Telegraph, 4 December 2019