What do YOU think, go conservative or go surgical? Treating cases of ‘uncomplicated’ appendicitis with strong antibiotics was found to be a safe alternative to appendectomies!!! After more than a century of slicing tiny, inflamed appendix’s from patients abdomens, doctors found that surgery may not be necessary—a simple course of antibiotics can be just as effective at treating appendicitis as going under the knife. About 6 in 10 patients who were first treated with antibiotics had not had their appendix removed five years later. The study’s finding is not entirely surprising; it follows randomized trials over the years that had carved out evidence that antibiotics alone can treat an acute appendicitis. Those studies, however, left some dangling questions, including if the antibiotics just improved the situation temporarily and if initial drug treatments left patients worse off later if they did need surgery. Let’s break it down a little. During the study, antibiotics were given to 257 patients. They were given the strong antibiotic, ertapenem, intravenously for three days followed by two antibiotic tablets for a week. After a year 78% of those treated with antibiotics did not require surgery. In total, 70 patients underwent an appendectomy in the first year and a further 30 within the next five years. But of these, only two were found to have complicated appendicitis, again suggesting surgery may not have been necessary. Of those who did go onto have surgery, none suffered serious complications from delays to having the appendix removed. By “uncomplicated,” we mean there weren’t issues like perforation, abscess, or suspicion of a tumor. The finding suggests that many appendicitis patients could be spared the risks of surgical procedures, such as infections. They may also be able to save money by not needing such an invasive procedure, and they could reap the benefits of shorter treatment and recovery times.