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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Swelling Of Stomach And Hardness After Undergoing Open Appendectomy?

Good afternoon. Five days ago I had an open appendectomy, I m at home now and the only instructions I received were to clean my wound daily just with soap and water. I don t feel very much pain therefore I m not taking any pain medicine (The doctor said only if it hurts, take it). I can eat normally and evacuate normally, I m walking and trying to sit down rather than lay down, also the wound seems okay, no swelling, no redness or warm to touch. The question I have is, my belly looks swollen, not precisely the wound but my abdomen, just when the stomach ends and the bowel starts. And when I touch it is hard (hard as if I take air into my mouth and my cheeks inflate and I touch it, like that) Is it normal? It s because of the surgery? Thanks for the answer.
Tue, 9 Jun 2015
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hello there,
What you described seems to be a rigid abdomen. Normally it is an indication for you to go to the emergency room but since you are a post operative patient in recovery it is not an issue. It will go down in another 3-5 days as your peritoneal(fluid inside your abdominal cavity) circulation re-acclimatises. If you have constipation for more than 2 days or you feel pain in your abdomen that is like a clench and is severe then you need to visit a doctor otherwise you are safe and you do not have to worry.

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What Causes Swelling Of Stomach And Hardness After Undergoing Open Appendectomy?

Hello there, What you described seems to be a rigid abdomen. Normally it is an indication for you to go to the emergency room but since you are a post operative patient in recovery it is not an issue. It will go down in another 3-5 days as your peritoneal(fluid inside your abdominal cavity) circulation re-acclimatises. If you have constipation for more than 2 days or you feel pain in your abdomen that is like a clench and is severe then you need to visit a doctor otherwise you are safe and you do not have to worry. Hope this helps, Please feel free to address any further queries to me,