About Curtis J. Edwards, MD, FACS Expertise Can answer general and vascular surgery questions, trauma, burns, some plastic surgery questions, general gastrointestinal surgery and gastrointestinal medical questions and questions regarding aviation medicine.
Experience Board certified general surgeon. Seventeen years practice experience in general, vascular, and no-cardiac thoracic surgery and endoscopy.
Organizations College of Surgeons, AMA, Aerospace Medical Assoc., Civil Aviation Medical Assoc.
Education/Credentials BA, MD, American Board of Surgery, Fellow American College of Surgeons, seventeen years practice all phases, including teaching.
Question Hi there! I am a 24yr old female, perfect health an just had a laproscopic appendectomy done a month an a half ago. all my pain was on my left side an not my right. after the surgery i am still experiencing pain, not as severe as before. my belly is still a little swollen, it hurts to walk and to sit, just having my seatbelt touch my stomach hurts. i feel nauseated a lot, and dizzy. i have told this to the doctors but they haven't said anything about it. i have asked another opinion from another doctor and am scheduled for a CT scan. i was wondering if you could please tell me why i am still having pain or as of to why my pain was on my left side?? is it pretty uncommon for the pain to be on your left and not your right? and could the anesthesia be what is causing my pain still??
Answer As I have not examined you, reviewed the medical record, lab tests, or imaging, what follows is offered for information purposes only and does not constitute treatment. I always suggest a thorough examination by a health care professional before embarking on a course of treatment.
It is exceedingly rare for patients with appendicitis to have only left sided pain, except if they have the rare anatomical condition situs inversus (where the organs are partially or totally reversed from the usual position). Ask for a copy of your pathology report and operative report to see what was found at surgery. If the office balks, insist, the documents are legally are yours for the asking. They may charge copy fee of a couple of dollars, however. It may be the appendix was normal and you had some type of problem related to your adnexa (reproductive organs) or colon. The surgeon may have missed it by not carrying out an exploration. I do not tolerate doctors who are circumspect. You have a right to know. If the doctor persists in his obfuscation, report him to the medical board and the hospital.
I was once chief of surgery at a hospital where every patient seen by a certain obfuscating surgeon automatically got an operation. The surgeon eventually lost his license. I am not indicating your surgeon is bad, just poor at communication at this initial writing.
