Anyone ever have abscess and infection post op?

I had a hand assisted laparoscopic RNY on 9/29/09.  I was discharged two days later and ended up being readmitted 4 days later with a massive infection and abscesses around my surgical site.  To me this was a big emotional toll.  The surgeon was very aggressive and very upset that this happened.  He did a CT scan found no leaks, or damage.  He had me on two very strong IV antibiotics while in the hospital.  The cultures could not specify the origin of the infection, and the sensitivity of the bacteria.  I developed two more abscesses while in the hospital and they had to be incised and drained.  Saturday  I was discharged home and have visiting nurses on a Wound Team working with me at home.     I have a v *** type dressing over the wounds. 

I'm still very sore over my upper abdomen. 
Has anyone ever gone through this?  I need support now more than ever.  Please tell me it's going to be ok.

Hi...I am so sorry to hear about this...my partner had a huge infection after her surgery also and needed wound packing and visiting nurses for about 6-7 weeks post-op....It really does affect your mindset after the surgery...instead of just concentrating on just drinking and then eating...you have to worry about the additional pain and healing of the wounds....We know exactly how you feel...it's too bad when it happens and hard to understand if you didn't have an infection...it makes the whole process so much harder...BUT trust me on this...it will get better and you will get through it....Jeannie (my partner) now is fine and says she would do it all over again, even with all of the additional pain....Good luck....feel free to send us a message if you have any questions or want to talk to someone...

I'm sorry to hear. I don't know anyone that has gone through it, but I did have a staph infection in one of my incisions and it was hell. It looked like a crater filled with puss. It hurt and took a while for it to go away with the antibiotics.

Have not had surgery yet but have had the staph infection too. My daughter has had over 25 surgeries and she contracted it from one of her hospital visits. Next thing i knew our whole family ended up with some sort of staph whether a boil or blister. It totally sucks. I just had one on my freakin chin! They did not have to lance it thank God. It is very contagious so we have to use bleach everywhere and never put my children in the same bath. It orginates in your nose and colonizes and becomes resistant to antibiotics so you have to use antibiotics that have sulfur in them. So my runny noses are usually a colpret if you are a carrier.

I also had infection on one surgical site. My lovely wife Leisa did my wound care at home between trips to surgeon's office. I still lost weight but I know it would have been quicker if I was not in bed most of the time. Still, no regrets here despite the pain, mess and worry.

Thank you for your reply.  I'm going on 5 wks post on tuesday and I still have open wounds from the abscesses.  I'm going back to the surgeon's office tomorrow because I'm having a lot of drainage.  Today I felt like the infection was returning.  I'm very concerned as to why I may be continuing to harbor an infection.

How long did you have your wounds and how long did you have to have them packed?  Did your infection return?  I have alot of tunneling from the wounds and I'm afraid that there are other areas that have not been discovered yet.

Sorry to hear about your infections. I had surgery 9/8 and just declared infection free 10/20. Took two courses of antibiotics. Wound still not healed. No more drainage though. Not sure what tunneling is. My sign of infection was egg size lump, warm to the touch. I had slight, very slight fever for a day or two. Will pray for your concerns and speedy recovery. Keep going to your doctor.