A child with appendicitis after appendectomy

Stump appendicitis, although rare, is a real entity that is often not considered during the evaluation of children with right lower quadrant pain and a surgical history of appendectomy. The history of appendectomy in a child may delay the diagnosis and management of this entity by misleading the physician into thinking that this patient could never have appendicitis again. However, the diagnosis of appendicitis should be considered in any patient with right lower quadrant pain, even if there is a history of appendectomy. We report a case of stump appendicitis 2 years after laparoscopic appendectomy. A review of the pertinent literature is included. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc.