3 wk post panniculectomy update (sorry so long)

Since I last updated they did end up taking out the last drain last Tuesday and everything looked good even though I was still draining quite a bit they wanted to take it out since it had been 2 weeks.  It hurt alot more than the first one did since it was starting to connect with tissue in there.  Anyway Wed and Thurs went fine and then Friday morning I woke up and felt like I had the flu kinda achy feeling so I took a couple tylenol and my husband had taken the day off so we could do some stuff to our vehicles so off we went to run a bunch of errands.  To make a long story short, by the time we got home in the late afternoon I was feeling really puny and freezing cold so I went to lay on the bed while he made some phone calls and I laid there under our big comforter and kept shivering and feeling bad so I called him in there and said I think something is wrong and told him how I felt and he said call your Dr. its almost 5 so I did and they said it sounded like I had an infection going on so he called in an antibiotic and said if the fever got worse or if I started vomitting etc to call again or go to the E.R.  Hubby went and got the meds and when he came back he said the pharmacist said it was a very strong antibiotic and that I must be really sick.  About 4 hours later I was even hotter and my hubby took off my garment and looked at my incision and there were puss pockets and it was very hot to the touch and very swollen so he called the oncall Dr. and told him what was going on and he said to come and meet him at the office right away so off we went at 10:30 pm.  My surgeons partner had me lay down on the exam table and he looked and then out came all the scary stuff and I knew what he was going to do and that it was going to hurt alot.  The worst part was numbing the area up though.  He made a hole near my incision with some hemostats and out drained about 200 cc.'s of ***** bloody fluid.  He then put a new JP drain in and here we are with a new drain and an additional week of no work (was supposed to go back today) 6 more days of antibiotics and I go see them again wed afternoon and hopefully the drain can come out.  He said it was an infected hematoma.  That all the blood collected in this pocket and just sat there and got infected.  So the fever is gone but it is still pretty sore.  My mons area is back to being very swollen it seems to get worse the tighter the compression garment gets.  I also can't eat very much at one time because it puts lots of pressure on the incision when I eat.  Iam down 10 lbs from when I had surgery even though there is alot of swelling still.  Will take more pics soon.  Thanks for all your support.

Super gentle *hugs*!

I'm sorry you're having these problems. I hope the antibiotics and new drain do the trick.

Oh Veronica that stinks that you had such probelms..I pray that you heal quickly now and are back to normal asap... Hugs Despinasdream

p.s. I'm having my panni in 13 days...

Sorry to hear about the infection. I'm glad the dr was able to meet you and help take care of it. I hope you feel better soon!

You poor thing, that really stinks.  But at least you called and they treated you right away right?  Keep us posted!

I am so sorry to hear about your situation.  I hope you get better soon and keep your chin up!

hope u feel better soon, your mons is more swollen because the compression garment is pushing the fluid down - gravity. pictures look great
good luck
Susan

So sorry you are going thru this.  I know what you mean about not being able to eat right after the TT but for me my appetite did come back and I felt more comfortable.

So glad you were able to reach your surgeon (especially so late at night) and that he was able to treat you right away.

I hope you get relief from the swelling real soon and that the infection clears up.

OUCH Veronica! OUCH!

I remember the  April post concerning your swollen, painful, bruised mons, and wondered then if there was an impending  hematoma or infection problem  - shame on your surgeon for not being more aggressive at that time ( I'm a veterinarian and we would have diagnosed it a hell of a lot sooner than THIS).

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/plasticsurgery/4163377/8-d ays-out-from-panniculectomy-have-s-7-day-pic-inc/#34060705

I have had a deep cellulitis/abcsess before on my abdomen (it was several years prior to WLS), I was very ill and in the hospital for 7 days while they argued on whether it was a MRSA or not, had to have a PIC line and big time intravenous antibiotics. What saved me ALOT of healing time was a device called a Wound Vac- if Leah is around, she used one too, for her post tummy-tuck infection. It provides constant drainage under a closed vaccuum system, and can shorten healing time from the anticipated 4-5 months to  3-5 weeks- truly phenomenal in my situation, I was so impressed we bought one for our hospital to use on the animals.

Even if your food consumption is down necause you feel like crap, you must get your protein in to heal - please make sure you are on shakes or SOMETHING that allows you to get in 100-125g of high quality protein per day as your body has increased demands right now.

Keep us posted, what a rotten experience- XOXOLori

Oh my! I hope you are feeling better now! I am sooo glad you payed attention to your symptoms and called, etc... Just think of what could've been if you hadn't and just passed it off as a cold or flu! Take care!!
Christy