Appendiceal stump appendicitis. Case report

Acute appendicitis is still the first cause of abdominal surgery worldwide, with 1.4 cases/1000 in the general population. As frequent as this is, appendiceal stump appendicitis is a very rare surgical event, due to an incomplete appendix resection and misleading cecum base identification due to cecum edema, abscesses, abnormal anatomy position of the appendix or multiple adhesions. The incidence of appendiceal stump appendicitis is not well known; however, there are some reports that suggest a slight increase in this pathology possibly due to laparoscopic surgical techniques. This report attempts to point out this diagnostic possibility to be considered by the surgeon when presented with a patient with acute abdominal pain and a past appendectomy.