Fun fact, all doctors who plan to winter at an Antarctic station must have their appendix removed beforehand [1]. The reason is that they're usually the only doctor available.
[1]: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-ant...
[1]: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-ant...
Sounds like it’s only an Australian rule.
It feels like it's an overreaction to a specific event.
It's not incredibly prevalent, but it's a death sentence if not treated immediately.
There have been studies where a large percentage of cases of appendicitis were successfully treated with antibiotics (which is treatment of course, but not immediate surgery).
Sure, antibiotics don’t work for every case, but doing abdominal surgery just in case sounds risky. [1] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2014320
Of those who take antibiotics, 40% require it to be removed via surgery within 5 years.
Source: https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/news/20180925/anti...
Also, the PR is very bad, and while ethically that's no reason for a medic to recommend this surgery to their patient it might be enough reason for a government to make it policy anyway.