Major incisional infection 6 months post op

Yep, infection came back in a major way. It was not a hernia, but infection. Went to the local er and they called Maguire and he saw me yesterday in the office.  He tried to open the incision to drain it, but when he did he found it was too deep. I ended up in surgery at around 8:30 last night and spent the night in the hospital. I guess I will be getting a wound vac and visiting nurses to come in and take care of it. 

I am so depressed. Has anyone had this kind of problem 6 months after a surgery?

Shele,

I am so sorry that this is happening to you.

I am sending you lots of cyber hugs.

I unfortunately do not have any advice at all for you because I have never had a surgery that was done open incision before.

I am scared to death now after reading this as my revision surgery is going to be open.

How did you know something was just not right to make you go to the ER?

I will keep you in my prayers.

Teena......are you going to the OH Conference in Dallas this weekend???   I hope so I would love to meet you.    Have a fantastic day !!!   Don't be scared of your revision.....I know that you will do great !!


Hugs and blessings ~~~ Vivian 

 Shele,

I am so sorry that you are going through this.   This is not a real common problem at least not one that I have heard of.   Most of the time I hear of this is with plastic surgery.   Hang in there sweetie.....I am sure that you will heal up with time.    I will say lots and lots of prayers for you.


Hugs and blessings ~~~ Vivian

I'm dealing with this now, but it's only been one month since my revision.  I've never heard of 6 months post op....that's a long time for an infection to come back.  I had surgery at 7:30 on Tuesday to clean  up my incision for the 2nd time. It was not as bad as last time which was 2 weeks ago.  He did close it with sutures since it was  not very deep and he put in a JP drain this time instead of the Tru-Lock gallon size drainage bag he used 2 weeks ago.  The pain was awful before he reopened it...really red and hot to the touch.

I'm missing all the fun stuff at work, 2 conferences that I worked on all year and I'm bummed I'm not able to reap the rewards of all my hard work...so I know how you feel when you say you're depressed. 

Hang in there and Be Blessed,

Nannette

Thanks to you all for the prayers and well wishes.  I am truly having a very hard time with this. The nurse was just out, and she said it looks good.  It is huge though.  3 inches long, 3.5 inches deep and 1.5 inches wide.  Last time it took 1/4 inch iodoform packing, this time it is 4 inch gauze roll.  It hurts really bad, and I am scared to death that this is never going to end.  I hate to do this on here as I don't want to scare anyone. But I guess I am looking for some reassurance or someone who experienced this this far out, The nurse also said that is is likely to re-occur since the tissue is weakened, not what I wanted to hear for sure. Please keep me in your prayers, I have 5 children and a wonderful DH that need me!

Thanks so much and may God bless all of you!

Shele,

I posted earlier, but wanted to respond again after reading how large your wound is. Before I ever had Gastric Bypass, I had gall bladder surgery and developed an incisional hernia that had to be repaired.  Well they removed my belly button in the process of the hernia repair and I ended up with an open wound about 3 inches wide and deep enough to take 2 rolls of the 4 inch gauze. I had a home health nurse out twice a day for almost 8 weeks, but it did heal.  the first time I watched her pack my wound with saline soaked guaze and that long q-tip thing..I almost passed out, good thing I was already lying down. It was a slow process because it heals from the inside out. I promise you this will get better and it will heal.

My prayers are with you for a speedy recovery. 

Nannette

Thank you so much for your reassurance and support! 

 WOW Shele...how horrible!  I am so very sorry to hear of your troubles.

I had a wound infection that happened about 1.5 months out from surgery.  However, I am sure mine was not as bad as yours.  I caught mine relatively early and I was lucky to have a small portion of my wound open back up, which allowed some drainage.  I could not get it to go away with hot compresses, antibiotics and creams.  My PCP gave me an option of packing it myself 2 times a day or have a nurse come in and do wound care and pack it.  With my schedule I chose to pack it myself.  It sure is a pain!  Took about 8 weeks for it to clear up and go away.  My PCP said that in a lot of cases the outside of the incision will heal and close over what starts to be a very small infection or drainage.  What happens is it leaves a void under the incision where the infection is allowed to fester.  If not caught and taken care of you can end up with big problems.  I was lucky mine healed and went away on its own.  From what I understand, this is not always the case.  If it does not heal on its own then the doctor has to do surgery to address the issue.  All I know is that 8 weeks of packing and having the PCP "cauterize the inside on each visit was not fun!

I hope you feel better and heal fast real soon.  I will send a prayer your way.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your time and prayers.