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Incision trouble???

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Posted 1/15/2012 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hi All,  Looking for some feedback..

One of Brandon's incisions has started oozing pus, which in my mind is the first sign of an infection.  It started Thursday evening.  The incision just above his belly button (approx 1" horizontal incision) started oozing at the bottom of the incision and the incision looks to have opended up a little.   rolleyes  

I, of course, called the surgeon's office first thing Friday and we saw the nurse that day.  She gave us some brown liquid (the kind that they put on your skin after surgery with the steri-stip) and told us to use that for a couple of days.  she felt that it was just one of his stitches that the body was rejecting.  It is now Sunday and the incision still has pus coming out of it.  We can also now see the thread-like stitch hanging out of the incision.  

Isn't four days of an oozing incision a long time?   I am shocked that they didn't put him on an antibiotic to clear up any infection. Has anyone else dealt with this type of thing?  the last thing we need is another complication.    

Thanks!

Posted 1/15/2012 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
Call the doc on call now...and either get a prescription called in or be the first in the office tomorrow!

Are you talking about Betadine? Was it a stoma nurse? Something doesn't sound right there:-(

Is Brandon running a fever?
Posted 1/15/2012 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know if you can tell this or not, but what color is the pus? Does it smell? My wounds have drained through stitches, and it's not necessarily a big deal. If the odor is very foul or the pus is yellow/green, it's more likely to be a problem than if it's clear and doesn't smell.

Also, monitor his temperature; if he spikes a fever, then it's definitely cause for alarm.

Of course, check w/the doctor, and I understand how worried you are about further complications. But an oozing incision does not always mean infection.... if there's fluid back there, it's better that it's out than in.
Posted 1/15/2012 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
I also had a lot of mucus and pus coming out of my incision. My incision was cleaned and packed at least 2 times a day. This sounds really weird but we used Maxi pads on the incision. My husband cleaned the incision and repacked it with gauze. He then put a pad over the incision that would help soak up anything that would be coming out. The pus and all may be a sign that the wound is trying to heal and the more it drains the better off he will be. If a fever is present that is a cause for alarm. If the pus smells or is a really weird color then I would also go and call and see what the docotrs want you to do. I hope that he will get better soon. Surgery is not something that is easy to deal with and if he has a big incision like the one that I have from the bottom of my sternum all the way down it will take a incision like that longer to heal.
Posted 1/15/2012 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
I also had a lot of mucus and pus coming out of my incision. My incision was cleaned and packed at least 2 times a day. This sounds really weird but we used Maxi pads on the incision. My husband cleaned the incision and repacked it with gauze. He then put a pad over the incision that would help soak up anything that would be coming out. The pus and all may be a sign that the wound is trying to heal and the more it drains the better off he will be. If a fever is present that is a cause for alarm. If the pus smells or is a really weird color then I would also go and call and see what the docotrs want you to do. I hope that he will get better soon. Surgery is not something that is easy to deal with and if he has a big incision like the one that I have from the bottom of my sternum all the way down it will take a incision like that longer to heal.
Posted 1/15/2012 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
I had the same problem with my incision. It oozed for 3 months. It to FOREVER to heal. My surgery was in the month of June and my incision finally closed up at the end of October. My dr. told me at the time as long as there is no fever, pain or redness, then it's not a concern. My body didn't like the sutures that were sewn inside and it was trying to reject them. That's why it took so long.
Posted 1/22/2012 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Well, we have made two trips to the surgeon's office to have his incision checked in the last week 50 minute drive each way) just to have them tell us there is nothing to be concerned about. Yesterday my son notice something black just under the scar and it started oozing from a different point on the incision. The black spot turned out to be a long black knotted stitched that he was able to pull out almost all the way, however, it is stuck on something and will not come out.  I have sent a picture of it to the surgical nurse.  I didnt think that the dissolvable stitches were black.  He had another stitch come out and it was clear nylon type stitch.  Not a thick black one.  We will probably make yet another trip to the Cleveland clinic to get it checked out again shakehead
Posted 1/22/2012 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
Ugh, what a drag to have to go back and forth -- but glad it doesn't seem to be serious.
Posted 1/22/2012 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
I had black stitches and clear ones. Both were dissolvable. I didn't have too many issues with my incisions for this surgery, but when I had my c-section, my wound oozed for at least 10-12 weeks.

I also have to ask is the pus yellow, green or clear? If it is clear, I wouldn't be concerned. It is annoying, but nothing to worry about.
Posted 1/22/2012 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
My oldest son had surgery to remove a blood vessel tumor from his hip about two years ago. A couple of months after surgery, a lump formed on the incision that looked like a giant nasty pimple. I could see what looked like a tiny bit of string poking out. I slowly pulled it with tweezers and it was a knotted piece of dissolving stitch material! He still gets a pimple type bump in that spot every four or five months or so that I have to drain.

Some people's bodies reject the dissolvable stitch material. I think something like happened with blueheron who posts here, but hers was pretty dramatic with the whole thing opening up. Definitely get it rechecked and I wouldn't pull on it anymore if it seems to be attached in there.
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