Question:
4 WEEKS OUT OPEN RNY--COULD INCISION BE INFECTED??

I have been doing soooo well, today is my 4 week anniversary and I have lost 26 pounds (yay about that!) but the last couple days there are some spots on my incision that are dark red, feel hot and are oozing. Very sore also. I am worried about this. I am seeing the doc day after tomorrow but wondered if anyone else has had this and what I can do in the mean time. I have been putting antibiotic ointment on the spots and covering them with bandaids. Seems like I should be peroxiding it too but I am scared to. Oh yeah, the worst part is where my new RNY scar overlaps an old gallbladder scar.. it looks really bad and is very sore. Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks ya'll! Pam in GA    — Pam B. (posted on November 13, 2003)

November 12, 2003
Im 5 weeks postop and just had my second absess opened up yesterday. The first costed me a trip to surgery and its going to take 4-8 more weeks to heal.This one is smaller about the size of 2 thumbs and as deep as an index finger. The first was 5 inches deep and 3 inches wide. We pack with wet to dry gauze everyday.Dr. said it must heal from inside out. Infection needs to drain out.I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your case sounds like mine.You really need to see the dr. I was told not to put antibiotic ointment on mine. We soak gauze in saline and pack the hole once dr. lanced it.It scared me too but you do get use to it and the longer that infection stays in the worse it gets.It will be okay.Just see the dr. Good luck..
   — loisph

November 13, 2003
Unfortunately, it sounds like you have an abcess. I was about 2 1/2 weeks out when I got my first one. Then a week later two more small ones opened up. Mine started the same way. First they were red and warm, then they started ozing. My surgeon opened them in the office. They were not all that big (the largest one was a couple inches wide and over an inch deep). I finally just stopped packing them -- about a month later. We had a visiting nurse come a couple times a week, and my husband learned how to do it. It may seem upsetting (I know I was), but honestly, in the grand scheme of things that could go wrong with major surgery, this is minor. They will culture it to see if it's an infection, and if it is, they will pack the opening with antibiotics. Good luck! You will be fine.
   — Rachel R.

November 15, 2003
peroxide is okay, but not by itself. Use a solution of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% sterile normal saline (you can get the fluid used to clean contact lens - just be sure it's plain normal saline) Mix the 50/50 solution (a new dixie cup works) nd just pour it over the areas in question, then put a sterile 4x4 dressing on it. It will work wonders, but be sure to see the doctor for your appointment too.
   — catleth