Tory wrote:
I googled it, and there can be a lot of complications with a burst appendix. Staph infection is what I was trying to think of earlier. It could be that or something else. She'll need strong iv antibiotics. But 2 weeks still seems extreem.
I went asearching as well and found:
When people DO die from appendicitis or other types of infection, it's because the infection gets out of control in a way that causes septic shock, and this leads to the failure of other organs like the lungs and kidneys. Even when this type of patient is brought to the hospital, control of the infection is not going to solve all the problems. By the time people are this sick, they need to be on a breathing machine called a ventilator and they need intensive care to try to hold them over until they recover organ functions that have been lost. People who die after appendiceal rupture die of multi-system organ failure due to septic shock.
Then this surgeon goes on to explain the "burst" pus pocket that they treat before going in and:
By waiting 4 to 6 weeks, we take a tough situation and make it into a much easier one for both the patient and the surgeon. This is called an "interval appendectomy" because we do it after an interval of time has gone by.
Clear as mud?