A report in this month's issue of Archives of Surgery reveals that removing a healthy appendix may place a patient at greater risk of suffering damaging side effects. Researchers at the University of Washington reviewed data involving 52,969 appendix removals in 1997 and discovered that in 15 percent of the surgeries physicians removed normal appendixes.

Doctors often rush to operate on inflamed appendixes because if left untreated they can burst, causing infection and even death. Unfortunately, other ailments often mimic appendicitis, which can lead to misdiagnosis. According to the study, 1.5 percent of misdiagnosed patients died after surgery, with 2.6 percent suffering severe side effects. The average hospital stay also increased by more than two days when a normal appendix was removed.