Opened Incision

Hello, This is the first time I have posted on this board, hell I just found this particular board.... I had surgery on 6/13/05, and have lost 25 lbs as of my 10 visit. I had also had my staples removed from my incision (I had an open RNY), and while still in the office my incision POPPED, and I had to be stitched back up in the office, 3 out of 4 inches of my incision. Now my question is I cant stand upright, when I try to I feel like I am ripping my guts out. My surgeon said that one of my problems is that where my incision is I have a SMALL FAT ROLL and the center of my incision inside the crease and up and down... I am so affraid to try and push myself to stand upright or even stretch the skin since I have the sutures in cause I dont want it to pop again and I want it to heal so I can get on with life. I had hindered me in being able to walk, and my energy level SUCKS ..... Any thoughts... any cures...... Paige 375/-25/175

Protein is very important in the healing process, so make sure you are getting all of it in. Your water as well. You should not force yourself to stand upright. Your skin has been pulled tight & needs time to heal in order to stretch. I had open RNY as well, I used Vitamin E to around the incision sight, until it was mostly closed then applied it to my incision. It seemed to help in keeping it moist to avoid "dry stretching". I have heard alot of people that have had our surgery tell their stories about them "bursting open" after staples being removed. Why some surgeons use & remove staples so early is beyond me. I weighed 320 going into surgery & had no staples, only internal sutures...thus much less scaring & had no problems with my sutures. Be careful when sitting & rising...use help when you can. Best of luck Shannon

Hi. An abdominal binder may help you to stand upright. Especially, during the first few weeks after surgery, you feel as if it's all going to "fall out" when you stand up. And hooray for you! A 25lb loss at ten days is great! Chris

Hello Paige I had surgery May 16th 05 I had 50 staples 1 week after surgery I went into a bowel obstruction .They reopened 50 staples and to find I had a previous hernia operation that had adhesions that wrapped around my small intestine. While under surgery my chest had herniated and my lung had collapsed. Therefore, they were unable to close a 50 staple incision. I had to be put on a wound vac machine for a few weeks to help close a 18inch by 6inch wide wound. Yes my gut still lays wide open And I mean wide open I am able to get up and move around I move slowly but I move I also live on a second floor and make the stairs well. it gets better keep working at it and good luck to you