Question:
How long is thing going to last?

Went in for my 2-week follow-up appointment yesterday. Dr. cut about an inch of my incision open and about 3 cups of fluid drained out. Was completely disgusting. Guess I should have had a drainage tube! Now the open wound has to be cleaned out and packed twice a day. I have a home nurse coming over to do it, which is great because just looking at it grosses me out. She measured the depth this morning and said its between 7-8cm deep and that it is draining "copiously". How long will it take for this to heal? Is there anything I can do to speed it along? Plus, I'm drinking 64oz of water a day, but I'll bet half of that is coming out my stomach! Do I need to compensate for that?    — Amy W. (posted on March 1, 2003)

March 1, 2003
I got an infection in my one incision and I went to the doctor one week after surgery because I was in sooo much pain. It had started draining on it's own the day I went in. It was horrible and it really smelled bad. He squeezed out all he could and then he packed it. I went back 2 days later and he said the infection was gone but it went down all the way to the muscle. My mom came over twice a day to pack it for me. As time goes on it gets smaller and smaller and you put less packing in it. We started out packing in about a foot of gauze, then we stopped packing it after 2 weeks and we were only putting in about an inch and then all I had was a little hole and that closed up in a day or two. It was a real pain but it's all better now, good luck.
   — Kelly* P.

March 1, 2003
I had an abdominal surgery about 5 years ago and the incision busted wide open about 6 inches across! The doctor ordered me to have a home health nurse come in twice a day to cleanse and pack it. How long did it take to heal up? Honestly, it took about 3 months to heal completely and I had the nurse coming over for the first 2 1/2 months. It can be a slow process, so don't be surprised if it doesn't heal immediately. It has to heal from the inside, out. Take care.
   — thumpiez

March 1, 2003
Personally for a one inch opening I would take care of it myself. I have three small holes I am taking care of. Two since the day he took my staples out (1 week) and a third one since last Monday (3 weeks PO). I expect the one hole, which was a good 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide at the beginning will take another 2 weeks to totally heal out (5 weeks total). It was closing down nicely but the other day I manged to turn the q-tip at a little bit of an angle and it went all the way in. Turns out there is still a good 3-4" deep area that hasn't healed out yet in that opening. The other two I expect to be closed within a week. <p>You commented about the drain but it has nothing to do with not having a drain. As my surgeon explained, there is a very thick layer of fat between the fascia and the skin and sometimes it just needs to heal from the inside out. If you don't open it and get it out by whicking it with packing it will get infected and hurt a lot. The third hole I ended up with I noticed last weekend that it was bumped up and very sore so I poked it and got a ton of fluid out. The next morning it was full again. So I went in that day and he really opened it up and it drained tons more. It will definitely heal faster with getting the fluid out. It really isn't a big deal to pack small holes. The one poster that had her whole incision split, that I don't think I would want to deal with either.
   — zoedogcbr

March 1, 2003
I had my tummy tuck done 3 1/2 weeks ago and Thursday, had to have a place about 2" opened on my incision. I had a knot the size of a small cantaloupe above it and it had to be allowed to drain. My surgeon didn't even suggest a home health nurse. He just showed me how to pack it and told me to either clean it with soap and water (using my fingers) or with a Q-tip and Hydrogen Peroxide. I opted for the peroxide and Q-tips. The first time was pretty bad and there was a lot of blood. But since then it hasn't been bad at all. In fact, it's hardly draining and I am having problems keeping the packing in because it appears to be closing. That concerns me because I don't want to have it opened again. I doubt the water you are drinking is coming out the wound. That drainage is built up blood and tissue. Your body is probably using the water - but if you are concerned, ask the nurse. I hope your incision heals nicely.
   — Patty_Butler

March 1, 2003
I had the same thing happen when I had my appendix out. My incision started draining after becoming infected about 2 weeks post-op and they had to cut open the incision again. They went almost 3 inches down and 5 inches across to drain and clean it. I then learned to pack it with guaze soaked in saline solution. Previous posters are correct in that it will get smaller. I started out packing in almost 1.5 feet of guaze but over the amount of a month it finally closed up. It didn't hurt but it sure grossed out the co-worker who accidently walked in on me when I was changing it. (you should have seen her face.:-) Just remember, it will get better!!
   — Linda K.