Question:
Did anyone have their inscision open up?

I had an inscision infection. I saw my surgeon las week and he said it was quite common. I should clean it with soap and water and put Neosporin on it. Most of the infection has gone away but it has opened up really big. About 1 inch wide by 3 inches long and it bleeds a little bit. It is quite sore. I called the Dr. on call today and he said I should call my surgeon in the morning. I was just wondering if anyone else had this happen and what was done for them. Can he sew it up?    — Stacie B. (posted on July 20, 2003)

July 20, 2003
hi Stacie, I'm not post op yet, but I Did just have surgery on my wrist for carpel tunnel. My dr told me Not to use Neosporin or any kind of other lotion or creams on it for awhile because it can cause the inscision to open up. i'd Definately call and have them look at it hun!
   — Penny~ L.

July 20, 2003
Stacie, You probably need to have it cleaned and packed eveyday. It will then heal from the inside out. Usually it is irregated with a saline solution and then pack with special tape. Good luck and call your surgeon.
   — Kriola

July 20, 2003
Hi Stacey, You need to see you surgeon as soon as you can. It is definately something that will need to heal from inside out and may take awhile depending on how fast your body heals itself. I had visiting nurses come in daily and do mine. It took months to heal but that is how my dody does things, slowly. I'm 15 months out and down 100lbs and I hope i'm still loosing. Good luck
   — Janet S.

July 20, 2003
I had a huge open incision when I had my hystorectomy done,Luckily I had lap with the rny and my gallbladder and hernias.This incision took 11 weeks to heal from the inside out.I was told to never put neosporin on it.I had to irrigate it with saline water and peroxide 3 times per day,then allow it to air dry.I weighed 350 at that time,so you could imagine how deep and long this opening was.Call your regular Doctor as soon as possible,the other Doctor may not give directions due to the fact that your primary instructed you to use ointmint on the opening.Let us know how things turn out.Best of luck.....
   — Lisa B.

July 20, 2003
My incision opened up about 4 1/2 weeks out. It started as two spots, then eventually opened to one large hole. It measured 3 inches deep, 2 1/2 inches wide and 5 inches long. It was huge. Turned out I had retained fluid inside that prevented my incision to heal completely, so I opened up. It freaked me out early into it, but my surgeon assured me that it was common, and I had a large middle so not to worry. It had to be packed and cleaned everyday. It healed up extremely nice and now I am almost 4 months out and have lost 71 pounds. My surgeon also told me to not use neosporin at all. I didn't. He said it had to heal itself from the inside out. Do see your surgeon, he at least needs to see it and guide you on how to pack it so it can heal. Hang in there, it gets better. You can't even tell by looking at my incision that I opened up, it healed great. So don't fret, you'll be fine, this happens.
   — tpalmer

July 20, 2003
Stacie, I'm quite surprised your doc told you to put Neosporin on it. My open incision from an ulcer surgery after my WLS never healed right and was also keloid. When it got infected, my PCP told me to let it rest. To wash with soap and water, but not to use any creams or ointments. He also gave me an antbitioc, b/c it was an infection. It should heal on its own, will just take time. Goodluck to you :-)
   — Lezlie Y.

July 20, 2003
Hey I had an open incision it healed completely then opened up about 2 weeks later. My surgeon opened it further and let it drained, then put me on some high powered antibiotics. But I had to go back every week. He said it was infected b/c it wasn't red and it didn't hurt other than the incision pain. Get some antibiotics!
   — Kimmie C.

July 21, 2003
Usually you cannot reclose an inscision once it has opened. There is too great a risk for infection. I had a laporotomy and had the same thing happen to a large inscision. I was upset that it could not be closed and that was the reason I was given.
   — Lorriana D.