History Main / RupturedAppendix

** In extremely rare cases; the remaining stump of the appendix after an appendectomy can become infected, requiring a repeat procedure. [[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675717310124?via%3Dihub One extremely unfortunate person needed three appendectomies]]

** In extremely rare cases; the remaining stump of the appendix after an appendectomy can become infected, requiring a repeat procedure. [[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675717310124?via%3Dihub One extremely unfortunate person needed three appendectomies]].

* Leonid Rogozov, a Russian doctor, got appendicitis. While on an expedition in Antarctica. Where he was the only doctor. [[http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/dec15_1/b4965 So he operated on himself.]]
** This led to a policy of preemptively removing the appendix of critical staff members (with their consent) before any trip to the base.
* Similar to the Rogozov example above, some jobs and/or activities that involve traveling to remote areas where evacuation is difficult or impossible will also require or at least suggest preemptively removing the appendix. Astronauts are the most well-known example, but others, such as hikers planning to solo-hike remote areas, will also sometimes have this done.

What makes appendicitis great for writers is that it can affect an otherwise completely healthy character with little or no advance warning ([[ArtisticLicenseMedicine in sharp contrast to real life appendicitis]], for reasons explained below), a sort of Sickness Ex Machina if you will, and instantly creates a sense of ticking-time-bomb tension as the character must get the appendix removed before it explodes! The situation also takes delightfully little time to fix: rush your character through some emergency surgery, spend a few seconds admiring the cool, new scar, and that's it; roll credits.

You can expect fictional portrayals of appendicitis to ignore all of the other symptoms associated with it in favor of the intense, stabbing and often completely debilitating pain that appears in your abdomen. While this is a major symptom, as well as typically being the biggest red flag that something is very, very wrong with your body, it is not the ''only'' symptom--others include mild fever, forms of irritable bowel syndrome, nausea/vomiting, [[AppetiteEqualsHealth loss of appetite]], among other unpleasant things. In fact, many of these symptoms (especially the fever and nausea) often come ''before'' the intense abdominal pain arrives.

(If you have severe stomach pain in the lower right side or that started there and spread[[note]]It tends to vary from person to person. Sometimes it actually starts as a pressing pain on the ''left'' side, while the right is only sensitive under pressure. [[ParanoiaFuel You never know until a specialist checks.]][[/note]], go to an emergency room. DO NOT take an enema or laxative or otherwise try to force a bowel movement – the pressure/stimulation of bowel contractions can cause the appendix to rupture. Also, ''have the surgery'', because while it may give you a scar (which will be quite small if they use an laparoscope) and may result in some occasional bowel issues later in life due to the appendix hosting beneficial bacteria, both of those can be easily dealt with – and the surgery is the only absolute cure that ensures the condition won't worsen and kill you, or return if cured via antibiotics or other nonsurgical treatment.

Subtrope of SickEpisode.

* This trope is TruthInTelevision – and it's actually ''quite'' common that almost everyone has at least ''heard'' of appendicitis or an appendix injury.

* The very first episode of ''Series/StepByStep'' has this happen with Al; she says her stomach hurts but her father Frank, believing she doesn't want to go to school (in part because because of the conflict of his recent remarriage), doesn't believe her. Her new stepmother Carol does and takes her to the hospital, where she's discovered to have appendicitis--and the scare starts to bring the newly blended families together.

* Happens to Hector on one ''WesternAnimation/OzzyAndDrix'' episode. Here the appendix is depicted as a roadside motel with swelling attributed to an unscrupulous manager trying to get it filled to the brim.

--> ''Roald Dahl'': You might think it silly that a nine-year-old could imagine that he would get away with a trick like that, but I had sound reasons for trying it on. My ancient half-sister had actually ''had'' appendicitis, so I was able to observe her behaviour at close quarters.

* The mother has appendicitis in Sydney Taylor's ''All of a Kind Family Uptown'' and recovers.

* Doc Leroy, one of the characters in Creator/JTEdson's ''Floating Outfit'' series of western novels, once saved the life of a cowhand with a burst appendix by operating on him with a Bowie knife.
* ''Freckle Juice'': Discussed when Andrew drinks the eponymous drink (a mixture of grape juice, wine vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, pepper, salt, ketchup, brine, and onion), he feels very nauseated. When he tells his mother he has a sore tummy, she thinks he must have appendicitis, until she sees the dishes he left in the kitchen and concludes he got sick from something he made.

* In Creator/RayBradbury's ''The Halloween Tree'', the boys who accompany [[GrimReaper Moundshroud]] on a TimeTravel tour of Halloween's history are offered the chance to [[BalancingDeathsBooks give up a year of their own lives]] to save their friend Pipkin from this trope.

* In one of the ''Jonathan Cap'' books by Francois Rivier, the local PluckyGirl Juliette ''nearly'' develops this and she's sent to a luxurious private clinic for treatment. [[spoiler:It almost happens for real when she, Jonathan, Alex and Nico are investigating the clinic at her request; she tries to help out Jonathan when he's forcibly given sleeping drugs, but she near collapses in pain. Thankfully her appendix remains in one piece and she recovers.]]

* In Creator/RoaldDahl's autobiography ''Boy'', Dahl recalls being so homesick during his first term at boarding school that he tried PlayingSick by faking appendicitis, just to be able to go home for a few days. The examining doctor wasn't fooled (the lack of physical symptoms, despite the boy's LargeHam performance in screaming with pain, was a dead giveaway), but agreed to keep Dahl's secret.

* In ''Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic'', this is why [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fluttershy]] has a SickEpisode and is nearly killed by a changeling in the hospital, even though ponies don't have appendixes.

* In Creatore/RoaldDahl's autobiography ''Boy'', Dahl recalls being so homesick during his first term at boarding school that he tried PlayingSick by faking appendicitis, just to be able to go home for a few days. The examining doctor wasn't fooled (the lack of physical symptoms, despite the boy's LargeHam performance in screaming with pain, was a dead giveaway), but agreed to keep Dahl's secret.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' that takes place in Australia, poor Eliza has the misfortune of not only developing Appendicitis on Valentine's Day, but also that the commvee and mini-comm are immobile. It's a possible life or death situation as Nigel overcomes various obstacles to get her to a hospital.

** It's common for childhood appendicitis to be mistaken for stomach flu--even by the doctors. This can result in the child not getting their appendix removed until after it has ruptured. Worse still, it may end with the poor kid dying as a result of peritonitis, with the parents OutlivingOnesOffspring.
* Harry Houdini died of a ruptured appendix, which may or may not have been exacerbated by someone punching him in the stomach a few days earlier--one theory is that he may have attributed the early symptoms of appendicitis to pain from the blow, and did not seek help as soon as he would have otherwise.

* ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' has an excellent example: The main villain of the third novel, [[spoiler: Fujino Asagami]], has a severe case of appendicitis, which leads her to believe she'd been stabbed. (It's complicated.) By the end of the episode, her condition has worsened to a point where even immediate attention is pointless; she's vomiting blood and barely able to crawl. And that's before we mention the killer chasing her, or the repeated rapes she endured previously. [[spoiler:It ends comparably well for her, when Ryougi Shiki (who can literally kill any''thing'') kills '' the appendicitis inside Fujino'' with her powers and saves her life.]]

* In ''Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic'', this is why [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fluttershy]] has a SickEpisode and is nearly killed by a changeling in the hospital, even though [[CriticalResearchFailure ponies don't have appendixes]].

* ''Literature/{{Madeline}}'' had appendicitis in her first book, and the scene was also included in the movie adaptation, the '50s animated adaptation, and the first animated special. Some of her dolls even include the scar from the surgery.

What makes appendicitis great for writers is that it can affect an otherwise completely healthy character with little or no advance warning (in sharp contrast to real life appendicitis, for reasons explained below), a sort of Sickness Ex Machina if you will, and instantly creates a sense of ticking-time-bomb tension as the character must get the appendix removed before it explodes! The situation also takes delightfully little time to fix: rush your character through some emergency surgery, spend a few seconds admiring the cool, new scar, and that's it; roll credits.

You can expect fictional portrayals of appendicitis to ignore all of the other symptoms associated with it in favor of the intense, stabbing and often completely debilitating pain that appears in your abdomen. While this is a major symptom, as well as typically being the biggest red flag that something is very, very wrong with your body, it is not the ''only'' symptom--others include mild fever, forms of irritable bowel syndrome, nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, among other unpleasant things. In fact, many of these symptoms (especially the fever and nausea) often come ''before'' the intense abdominal pain arrives.

* In the ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'' fanfic, ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7502317/1/Not-a-Normal-Day Not a Normal Day]]'', Hakase gets appendicitis and has to be rushed to the hospital. Luckily, she comes out of it just fine.
* In Chapter 26 of the ''Manga/LuckyStar'' fanfic ''Fanfic/LuckyStarAfterStory'', Yutaka ends up developing appendicitis during her and Minami's senior year in college. After her appendix is removed, her overall health ends up improving greatly.
* In [[Creator/RoseOfPollux Crystal Rose of Pollux's]] "Lone Star and Union Jack" collection of Monkees vignettes, a teenaged Davy contracts appendicitis.
* The ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SickStreak''.

* In ''Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic'', this is why [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fluttershy]] has a SickEpisode and is nearly killed by a changeling in the hospital, even though [[CriticalResearchFailure ponies don't have appendixes]].

* In Chapter 25 of the first season of ''Fanfic/TheJoysAndSorrowsOfYoungCharlesFinster'', Chas has a SickEpisode where he almost dies of appendicitis at the age of eleven. Notably, this is the first time he ever sees [[JockDadNerdSon his father]] get scared.

* ''Literature/HouseOfTheScorpion'': In El Patron's backstory, one of his siblings died from this, since his family couldn't afford a doctor.
* Literature/{{Madeline}} had this happen in her first book, and the scene was also included in the movie adaptation, the '50s animated adaptation, and the first animated special. Some of her dolls even include the scar from the surgery.

* Doc Leroy, one of the characters in Creator/JTEdson's ''Floating Outfit'' series of western novels, once saved the life of a cowhand with a burst appendix by operating on him with a Bowie knife.
* There was a [[Literature/TheBabySittersClub Baby-Sitters Club]] special that was kicked off by Kristy being stuck in the hospital with appendicitis. She receives a chain letter from a friend while recovering, and starts to send it to the rest of the club, who are all off on summer vacation.

---> ''Roald Dahl'': You might think it silly that a nine-year-old could imagine that he would get away with a trick like that, but I had sound reasons for trying it on. My ancient half-sister had actually ''had'' appendicitis, so I was able to observe her behaviour at close quarters.

* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheStand'', after the [[ThePlague superflu]] wipes out most of humanity, one of the survivors dies of appendicitis, because there are no doctors left around. Stu tries to remove it, only to have the patient die partway through the operation. Then the guy's wife commits suicide afterward.
* Creator/RobertMerle's novel ''{{Literature/Malevil}}'' has a similar situation. The few survivors of a nuclear holocaust lose [[spoiler:the protagonist]] when he eventually dies of appendicitis.
* ''Literature/TeenageWorrier's Worry Files'' has Letty's brother being rushed to hospital with appendicitis for the drama factor.

* In one of Creator/JohnBellairs's [[Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls Lewis Barnavelt novels]], while Mrs. Zimmerman and Rose Rita are driving home, Mrs. Zimmerman is overcome with a crippling pain in her stomach. She believes it's her appendix, which leads to Rose Rita remembering how a classmate of hers died after mistaking appendicitis for a bad stomachache and didn't seek treatment until it was too late. When Mrs. Zimmerman gets to the hospital, [[spoiler:it's revealed that the pain was too high to have been her appendix. Mrs. Zimmerman tells Rose Rita that she suspects it was actually the effects of a dark magic curse someone used on her.]]
* Lu Clarke has one in ''Literature/CherryAmes: Mountaineer Nurse'' by Julie Tatham. Since she's in a remote valley, she barely makes it to the hospital in time.
* The mother has one in Sydney Taylor's ''All of a Kind Family Uptown'' and recovers.
* In George R. Stewart's 1949 novel ''Literature/EarthAbides'' Isherwood Williams, who has survived a global plague and is one of the few survivors on Earth, makes a list of positive things that may indicate his survival. One of them is the fact that he has already had his appendix out, so he doesn't have to worry about this.

* In Creator/RayBradbury's ''The Halloween Tree'', the boys who accompany [[GrimReaper Moundshroud]] on a TimeTravel tour of Halloween's history are offered the chance to [[BalancingDeathsBooks give up a year of their own lives]] to save their friend Pipkin from this trope.
* In Jonny D Boggs' "Hard way out of Hell" Cole Younger's brother Dick dies of appendicitis. Cole is quite shocked.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'':
** In "White Gold," Hawkeye and Trapper conduct unnecessary appendix surgery on Colonel Flagg, who wants to make off with the camp's penicillin inventory.
*** Several seasons later, Hawkeye drugs a dangerous colonel and [[InducedHypochondria makes him think he has acute appendicitis]]. In a deliberate case of series-wide CharacterDevelopment, this it's not treated comically, and [[HeterosexualLifePartners BJ Hunnicutt]] [[WhatTheHellHero refused to go along with it]].
----> '''B.J.:''' It's mutilation!...If you do this you'll hate yourself!\\
'''Hawkeye:''' I already hate myself! I hate me, I hate you, and I hate this whole life here! But if I can keep that maniac off the line with a simple appendectomy, at least I'll hate myself with a clear conscience.
** In "The Long John Flap", Col. Blake is wearing the titular long underwear, and Hawkeye and Trapper threaten him, when suddenly Blake reacts as though punched. Turns out it's his appendix rupturing, and they have to operate immediately. The entire camp is mildly happy to hear that Blake's appendix was successfully and safely removed... but overjoyed at hearing that they didn't have to cut him out of the long underwear to do so, and so the long underwear was intact.
** Major Houlihan is mentioned in one episode to have chronic appendix flare-ups, and that she'll be fine and doesn't need surgery as long as she takes a brief break from performing surgeries until it calms down. She intends to eventually get it removed in the city, but just in case, she requests that Hawkeye be the one to operate if necessary despite Frank Burns usually being the surgeon to perform minor operations[[note]] As a result of Burns' sexual dry spell following Houlihan breaking up with him, he can't keep examinations professional and repeatedly tries to grope and neck with her when he tries. This in addition to a short but noticeable string of minor operation mistakes[[/note]]. [[ChekhovsGun Of]] [[ConservationOfDetail course]], it becomes necessary to remove the appendix, and [[spoiler:while she can't get to Tokyo or even Seoul, Hawkeye removes the appendix with little problem beyond Burns attempting to horn in on the operation]].
** A later episode has Hawkeye performing an appendectomy on a singer with a USO troupe. He spends the rest of the two-episode story dissuading the obvious crush she develops on him, thinking a sweet young woman like her deserves a more honorable man in her life than [[TheCasanova Hawkeye]].
* In the Sweet 16 episode of ''Series/LifeWithDerek'', Casey comes down with appendicitis. On her sixteenth birthday.
* ''Series/DoogieHowserMD'': 16-year-old Doogie rushes his appendicitis-stricken girlfriend, Wanda to the ER straight from their DriveInTheater date. He proceeds to diagnose her (via pelvic exam!) and assist in the operation himself. Trouble ensues because [[spoiler:he didn't have time to properly ask for the required authorization from her parents (Wanda is 16 and a minor as well), and they're '''not''' happy. (Wanda herself is mostly embarrassed that [[ArsonmurderAndJaywalking Doogie saw her naked]], and she gets better).]]
* On ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'', Jeannie blinks Tony into a doctor just as Roger gets wheeled into the hospital for an appendectomy.
* On ''Series/{{Lost}}'', Jack, the survivors' team doctor, had to have his appendix removed while on the island.
* Daniel has very little to do in the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "Nemesis", as he's recovering from an emergency appendectomy. This was because Michael Shanks was [[WrittenInInfirmity recovering from an appendectomy himself]].
* Happened on an episode of ''Series/LaverneAndShirley''; Shirley gets appendicitis while in costume rehearsing for their "Literature/AliceInWonderland" play.

* On ''Series/NightCourt'' during the story arc where Dan, an Army Reservist, gets activated and sent to Alaska. A local Eskimo woman has to have her appendix removed and since he accidentally caused the local doctor to injure both of his hands, Dan must perform the procedure, with the doctor talking him through it.
* This occurred in an episode of ''Series/FullHouse'' with Uncle Jesse, coincidentally while he was in the hospital while his twins were being born.

* In the ''Series/QuantumLeap'' episode "Ghost Ship", Sam leaps into a pilot who must safely guide a plane out of the BermudaTriangle and save one of the passengers from dying of appendicitis. Unusually for this trope, her appendix actually bursts, but Sam is able to use his medical knowledge to provide supportive care until they reach a hospital.
* In the second season of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle,'' Malcolm goes to hospital with what's assumed to be appendicitis. Ultimately turned on its' head as the diagnosis proves to be wrong.
* In the episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' entitled "My Day Off" J.D. develops appendicitis and has to experience the hospital from a patient's point of view.
* In the TaiwaneseSeries ''Series/DevilBesideYou'', Ahmon goes onstage after the lead guitarist goes down with appendicitis. He then gets to guitar suggestively in front of his love interest.
* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had a variation of this, the serial killer Dr. Jekyll, who implanted a guy with a diseased appendix. Naturally, it killed the guy later.
* In Australian children's TV adaptation of ''Literature/TheSaddleClub'', Lisa (one of the three central characters) is alone on horseback when she's overcome by the pain of Appendicitis and collapses on the trail.
* In Series 2 of ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'', the TeamMedic (in the persona of the original [[Series/TheBionicWoman Bionic Woman]]) answers Artie's call for a second appendectomy -- he claims that being around all the artifacts made it grow back. [[spoiler:Turns out he was using P.T. Barnum's spinning-top, which can "grow" multiple arms, legs, etc., to regrow it: he had taken a shine to the woman.]] She has to make a call somewhere else, and doesn't get around to removing it. When it gets bad, Artie has to go to the town vet.
* In ''Series/TheBigValley'', Audra contracted appendicitis in the episode "Last Train to the Fair."
* In the ''Series/LandOfTheGiants'' episode "The Creed," Barry gets appendicitis. This forces his fellow castaways to enlist the help of a giant doctor.

* Colton Cumbie was removed from ''Series/{{Survivor}} One World'' with symptoms that mirrored appendicitis. (To which Kat asked [[TheDitz where it was]]) However, during his appearance on Blood vs. Water, Probst reveals that Colton might not have actually had it, and even accused Colton of faking it!

* The ''Series/PunkyBrewster'' episode "Ouch" has Punky suffering from appendicitis. The thought of being operated on frightens her to tears, and she hides out in a hospital closet. Betty (Cherie's grandmother) finds her and persuades her to have the operation done.
* A ''Series/DiffrentStrokes'' episode had Arnold develop appendicitis and is too scared to the doctor until he meets a girl who is having a similar operation (her tonsils) and would be sharing a room together in the hospital. But when the girl's father decides against it after finding out Arnold is black, Arnold and the girl run away and the families have to search for them before Arnold's appendix bursts.
* Bright Abbot has this happen in the first season of ''Series/{{Everwood}}'', but it's not sudden and immediate; he's shown having stomach pains at the beginning of the episode but goes to his grandmother's birthday party anyway. Andy and Harold realize the appendix is inflamed and it only bursts when Bright tries to get up. Andy ends up removing it himself in his office, and Bright recovers.

* On ''Series/BarneyMiller'', Nick Yemana developed appendicitis in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named episode]] "Appendicitis."
* On ''Series/GomerPyleUSMC'', Sergeant Carter wound up needing to have his appendix removed in "Gomer Tends a Sick Cat."

* ''Series/BirdsOfAFeather'': In "[[Recap/BirdsOfAFeatherS2E11LoveOnTheRun Love On The Run]]", Darryl (who's in prison) has appendicitis and has to be rushed to the Royal Infirmary, which sets up the plot of him wanting to escape so that he can have a night out with Tracey. Additionally, Tracey [[FakingAnotherPersonsIllness lies about Garth having appendicitis]] so that she can get away without telling Tracey.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'': In the second game, the player can come across a sick passenger in an airport complaining about his stomach. Later in the game, you can run into him, and he'll mention that he had appendicitis.

* In ''WebOriginal/DeadEnds'' the abundance of zombies prevents [[spoiler:Winny, Will's wife,]] from getting a life-saving operation.
* ''WebVideo/{{Chubbyemu}}'' goes over a case of this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QS3-wY-Xwg "A Student Felt A Sharp Pain In Her Side. This Is How Her Organs Shut Down."]], which sees Patient JC go to the hospital for an appendectomy after experiencing a bout of appendicitis at a student party, only to [[FromBadToWorse contract MRSA]] due to extremely poor hygiene practices from one of the staff whilst recovering.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', in "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood", Dr. Hibbert performed an emergency appendectomy on the street, then threw the appendix away as if it were a live grenade. It even exploded like a grenade.
** Another when Bart gets a stomach ache after accidentally eating a jagged metal toy from the Krusty cereal. He's sent to the hospital with what turns out to be appendicitis. [[ArtisticLicenseMedicine Which can't be caused by eating metal, by the way]].
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', called "Galactic Gamesman Garfield", had Jon suffer from appendicitis, though Garfield's obsession with a video game didn't help him at all... but between the antics of [[HeroicDog Odie]] and [[AccidentalHero the noise from Garfield playing the video game]], they managed to alert the paramedics in time.
* Happened on ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' in the episode "[[Recap/RockosModernLifeS2E2PipeDreamsTickedPinky Tickled Pinky]]". Before the procedure, Rocko has a dream in which his appendix is a little kid whom he consoles with a trip to the fair (and other, increasingly silly last requests) before he's taken out.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' that takes place in Australia, poor Eliza has the misfortune of not only developing Appendicitis on Valentine's Day, but also that the commvee and mini-comm are immobile. It's a possible life or death situation as Nigel overcomes various obstacles to get her to a hospital.
* Happens to Hector on one ''WesternAnimation/OzzyAndDrix'' episode. Here the appendix is depicted as a roadside motel with swelling attributed to an unscrupulous manager trying to get it filled to the brim.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Unikitty}}'' episode "Kaiju Kitty", Richard's position on the Shining Mecha Kitty Turbo V robot is the appendix, which according to Dr. Fox, "just sits there and occasionally explodes", much to Richard's annoyance. It ends up turning out to be [[spoiler:housing the self-destruct mechanism for the mech, saving them during permanent lockdown]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' episode "The Five Days of F.L.A.R.G.", Mark claims that if he's unable to celebrate the Yugopotamian holiday of Flarg, his appendix (which he pronounces as "app-in-dix") will burst. Unfortunately, [[BizarreAlienBiology his appendix is a nuclear device that's powerful enough to destroy Earth.]]

* In Chapter 26 of the ''Manga/LuckyStar'' fanfic ''Fanfic/LuckyStarAfterStory'', [[IllGirl Yutaka]] ends up developing appendicitis during her and Minami's senior year in college. After her appendix is removed, her overall health ends up improving greatly.

* In ''Webcomic/KillLaKillAU'', we have this with Satsuki in comic 35 and this marks her as an IllGirl, as stress had done a number on her health to that degree. She turns out okay.

** Another when Bart gets a stomach ache after accidentally eating a jagged metal toy from the Krusty cereal. He's sent to the hospital which it turns out to be appendicitis.

* In Chapter 25 of the first season of ''Fanfic/TheJoysAndSorrowsOfYoungCharlesFinster'', Chas has a SickEpisode where he almost dies of appendicitis at the age of eleven. Notably, this is the first time he ever sees [[JockDadNerdSon his father]] [[AdultFear get scared]].

** More tragically, it is also common for childhood appendicitis to be mistaken for stomach flu--even by the doctors. [[AdultFear This can result in the child not getting their appendix removed until after it has ruptured,]] or worse still, [[TearJerker it may end with the poor kid dying as a result of peritonitis,]] with the parents OutlivingOnesOffspring.

* The ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6756991/1/Sick-Streak Sick Streak]]''.

* One chapter of the ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' fanfic ''Fanfic/HoldMe'' has Narcis Prince land in the hospital to get his appendix out after he wakes up at four A.M crying and won't calm down.

* {{Literature/Madeline}} had this happen in her first book, and the scene was also included in the movie adaptation, the '50s animated adaptation, and the first animated special. Some of her dolls even include the scar from the surgery.

(If you have severe stomach pain in the lower right side or that started there and spread[[note]]It tends to vary from person to person. Sometimes it actually starts as a pressing pain on the ''left'' side, while the right is only sensitive under pressure. [[ParanoiaFuel You never know until a specialist checks.]][[/note]], go to an emergency room. DO NOT take an enema or laxative or otherwise try to force a bowel movement – the pressure/stimulation of bowel contractions can cause the appendix to rupture. Also, ''have the surgery'', because while it may give you a scar (which will be quite small if they use an endoscope) and may result in some occasional bowel issues later in life due to the appendix hosting beneficial bacteria, both of those can be easily dealt with – and the surgery is the only absolute cure that ensures the condition won't worsen and kill you, or return if cured via antibiotics or other nonsurgical treatment.

* A culprit in an early episode of ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' had a son who died of appendicitis, and tried to kill the surgeon's son as revenge. When this is explained, Mouri immediately asks how it's even possible to die of appendicitis in this day and age, and the [[ShownTheirWork surgeon explained he wasn't able to save the kid, because it was too late when the father brought him in]].