wow, it’s been a long time since i posted on here. i can’t believe i remembered my password!
well, i finally went back to work on may 24th. about 8 months after the initial rupture and 30 pounds heavier. i was a little rusty at first, but i got back into the swing of things fairly quick.
now the bad news…………………
i keep on having that recurring infection, even after the z-plasty. my plastic surgeon finally sent me to a infectious disease specialist who thinks the problem was i was never on antibiotics for longer then 2 weeks. he did say “any foreign body is at risk to be the foci of an infection”. he didn’t recommend IV antibiotics because oral cipro is just as good. just upped my dosage and is going to keep me on it for a few more weeks.
i’m really hoping they don’t have to open me back up again
3 responses so far ↓
GerryR // Sep 8th 2010 at 8:58 pm
Good to hear from you, but not good to hear you’re still having problems. Is the incision fully closed or are you having drainage? Have you had an MRI? I had one before my fourth (and last) surgery and it showed an abscess with a suture knot at the bottom of it. The surgeon removed the knot and other suture material on May 20 and the persistent drainage stopped on May 29. The sutures came out on June 9 and I’ve had no problems since, even when my PT massaged the scar with a plastic massage tool, vigorously too.
doster79 // Sep 9th 2010 at 2:48 am
the incision is fully closed, and it’s draining off to the bottom side of the z plasty scar. the ID specialist upped my daily dosage of cipro and plans on keeping me on it for several weeks hoping to clear it up.
he did tell me that foreign bodies will be the focal point for infections. i just can’t believe almost a year later this is still giving me problems.
no MRI yet, i have to see the infectious disease specialist again at the end of the month, and i’ll see what he has planned for me then. i’ll be sure to ask about one.
so you were laid up for about 2 1/2 weeks after the fourth surgery? i’m really
Gerryr // Sep 9th 2010 at 8:44 am
The fact that it is draining means it really isn’t completely closed. Before my last surgery I had days and sometimes even a few weeks when the incision was totally closed and no drainage, but then it would start draining again for a while. Ultimately it just wouldn’t stop in spite of the fact I was taking antibiotics. Has the ID doc explained the risks of Cipro? I took it a couple of times but always asked to see the sensitivity data before agreeing to take it and then I refused to take it for more than 2 weeks.
I recommend you demand the MRI right now so they can see what’s going on inside. Mine showed an abscess with the suture knot at the bottom of it. If yours shows the same thing, antibiotics are unlikely to resolve the issue, you just need to get the suture material out of there. I just wish I had been smart enough to get it done in March or even October when I was becoming convinced the problems were the result of the internal sutures. I kept hoping the next round of antibiotics would cure it.
I was actually only “laid up” for the first week. My foot was in a cast but I was FWB. The surgeon asked me to be a slug for a week so I worked from home and pretty much spent all my time in the recliner with my leg elevated while working on my laptop. After a week the cast was removed and I was back in the boot until the sutures were removed. I left his office that day in two shoes and started PT a week later, at his request. I have had absolutely no problems since, except for the internal adhesion from 4 surgeries, but it was worth it. I’ve logged about 1500 miles on my bike, been backpacking 3 times, 2 long hikes in the mountains and run about 30 miles. Last winter wearing my ski boot was painful, sometimes to the point that I couldn’t teach. I tried it on last week and it felt just fine, no pain at all.
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