Abcess at Ressection Site

JanJan63 · May 2016

So after my surgery almost two years ago I ended up with an abcess at the ressection site. It put me back in the hospital days after getting home from the original surgery and involved having a drain put in. Which was one of the most painful experiences of my life as they go through the butt cheek and just start digging through, freezing as they go, but feels like there is no freezing and was one of the things that was the most traumatic part of my cancer treatments. I was stunned that something could be done in this day and age that would be so incredibly painful. I scar badly and now have a ping pong ball sized scar inside that hurts if I sit the wrong way.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else has had that? I spent the day at the hospital yesterday because the abcess is acting up again. They wanted to admit me and I refused so I have to go back again today. This is the second or third time it's filled up again since I first had it but it's not as bad because the pocket it created has healed to only 20% of it's original size. But every time it's happened I end up really sick. High fevers, terrible stomach cramps, nausea, dehydrated, all that fun stuff. I was supposed to be in a horse clinic today, which I haven't been able to do for a few years, and had to cancel and I'm really choked. I want to feel normal again, not still sick and unable to do things.

If anybody has experienced this, do you have any idea why they keep coming back? I don't know what to do to prevent it. I don't see my surgeon again until the fall and I'd thought I was past this. Thanks for any advice!

Jan

Trubrit · May 2016

Horrendous treatment

I can't believe they did that to you, and without anesthetic. That is truly horrendous. And now you have a keloid (it sounds that way) and a reminder of what they did.

I'm appalled!

I can't help you though, as the only post surgery problems I have had were all to do with the incision not healing. I had many trips to the hosptial getting little bits of fat cut out (now that was painful) and packed with tape. In the end, they sent home the supplies and I had to do it myself.

I hope someone is able to answer your question.

SUE

John23 · May 2016

OUCH?

OUCH?

I had nephrostomy tubes put in. They go through your back and into the kidney, they place a hose that carries the urine out and into a collection bag.

I told them to "PUT ME OUT". Period. I am not going to have that done with a "local anesthetic".

I just had a cystoscopy..... A hollow tube (cystoscope) equipped with a lens is inserted into your urethra and slowly advanced into your bladder. They were going to do it with a sedative... NO..... I insisted on being put out. It required a 23hr hospital stay, but they did it.

Why am I sharing this? 'Cuz I'm a guy and not supposed to be a wimp. No "Foley" unless they put me out. I am a wimp.

Insist that they put you totally out; that is your right. Don't allow them to force pain upon you, they can do better than that. Insurance will pay for anything the physician can find reason for, and psychological distress that will debilitate you, is reason enough.

OUCH.... Good grief..

Be well.

John

JanJan63 · May 2016

Thanks for the support you

Thanks for the support you guys. Unfortunately, I had it done twice. I got home from the first one and then a couple of days later had to go back to the hospital because the abcess has just closed off the first time so I had a second drain put in to the same abcess. I was in the hospital for almost two weeks. Because I knew what they were going to do I started screaming (I'm ashamed to say) and was pretty much held down. I actually think it gave me some PTSD for quite some time afterwards. I obsessed over it and thought about it all the time and would start crying out of the blue. I could barely talk about it. And, Sue, I also had in infection in my incision site that showed up a couple of weeks after I got home from the abcess thing and had a tunnel the size of a man's finger of a cave that the infection had eaten away under the skin. The incision broke open and I had to have that packed for weeks, which put off my mop up chemo longer than it was supposed to. That was astoundingly painful, too. My husband went with me as often as possible and let me squeeze his hand, the poor guy.

I live in Alberta, Canada and we have paid health care so there are no concerns about costs for the main part. And yes, I get almost keloid scars. I still have a huge one from getting my gallbladder out when I was 26.

Jan

beaumontdave · May 2016

I have a relatively high

I have a relatively high threshhold for pain, but all that stuff sounds awful Jan, I'm sorry you had to go through it. The most miserable time I've had on this ride, was the first two nights after the last surgery. Sometime during the operation, I pulled both my bisceps and the long muscles on the right side of my back. Hospital beds are 8 inch mattresses on heavy steel frames, and I couldn't stay on my back or sides, especially with a 10"x10" incision on my belly. The opiates they gave me didn't do much, because I'd developed a tolerance, using meds I and the wife had stored up. Very bad idea. Anyway, I couldn't get a better bed, better meds or muscle relaxants, so I worked my way to the chair by the bed, and tried to sleep there. I would almost get to sleep, then awaken, so I wouldn't fall over, leaning forward to stay off my back. I felt awful. The second night, a nurse asked if I wanted Benadryl, I didn't really know what it did, but I took it anyway. I barely made it back to the bed before nodding off, and slept for a solid 6 hours. Thats as miserable a time as I can remember, and it still seems mild in comparison to Jan's story and others I've read here, so I guess I'll count myself lucky that that's the worst physical pain I can recall. Heal up and feel better Jan...........................Dave

Trubrit · May 2016

beaumontdave said:
I have a relatively high
I have a relatively high threshhold for pain, but all that stuff sounds awful Jan, I'm sorry you had to go through it. The most miserable time I've had on this ride, was the first two nights after the last surgery. Sometime during the operation, I pulled both my bisceps and the long muscles on the right side of my back. Hospital beds are 8 inch mattresses on heavy steel frames, and I couldn't stay on my back or sides, especially with a 10"x10" incision on my belly. The opiates they gave me didn't do much, because I'd developed a tolerance, using meds I and the wife had stored up. Very bad idea. Anyway, I couldn't get a better bed, better meds or muscle relaxants, so I worked my way to the chair by the bed, and tried to sleep there. I would almost get to sleep, then awaken, so I wouldn't fall over, leaning forward to stay off my back. I felt awful. The second night, a nurse asked if I wanted Benadryl, I didn't really know what it did, but I took it anyway. I barely made it back to the bed before nodding off, and slept for a solid 6 hours. Thats as miserable a time as I can remember, and it still seems mild in comparison to Jan's story and others I've read here, so I guess I'll count myself lucky that that's the worst physical pain I can recall. Heal up and feel better Jan...........................Dave

Pain is pain, Dave

If its your pain, then it is as bad as others pain. You know what I'm saying?

I had a C-Section without anesthetic. Yes, you heard that right. It was beyond pain, but I would and could never say that it was worse than anyone elses pain, because, well, pain is pain and if we hurt, then there is no pain worse.

SUE

JanJan63 · May 2016

Trubrit said:
Pain is pain, Dave
If its your pain, then it is as bad as others pain. You know what I'm saying?

I had a C-Section without anesthetic. Yes, you heard that right. It was beyond pain, but I would and could never say that it was worse than anyone elses pain, because, well, pain is pain and if we hurt, then there is no pain worse.

SUE

Good lord, Sue, I cannot

Good lord, Sue, I cannot imagine. And Dave, that's terrible, I'm sorry you had such a tough time. I'm a major wimp, I'm bad about needles or having an IV placed. So if I say something really hurt it probably wasn't that bad. Although, I tend to find that things are never as bad as I anticipate them to be. I think the digging in to put the drain in thing was such a shock more than anything else. I'm still surprised that in this day and age, with all of the options we have, they'd do something so nasty without putting a patient under.

I watched a show a while back where they showed the huge scissors they used to use to cut off the breasts of women with breast cancer. Of course, no anesthetic or painkillers and most of them died soon after anyway from infection. I think it was the late 1700's or something like that. One woman had it done twice when the first time didn't get all the cancer. Amazing and horrifying. All I could think is that I'd just tell them to let me die. Most people died pretty young in those days anyway and life was hard. But I guess it's all relative.

Jan

ellend · May 2016

so sorry

I am currently in the hospital recovering from an abdominal abscess, but didn't have to go through anything like you did. They did a CT scan to find the pocket, they gave me anethestics, did a paracentesis and put in a drain. I'm sorry you had to suffer to get yours drained, sounds horrid.

lhduffer · May 2016

Abcess

I went in last Wednesday, 5/18, to have a drain installed for an abcess at my resection site. My LAR was on 4/7 and at my follow up appointment 5 weeks later the surgeon was concerned about my continued tailbone area pain and had me sent for a CT which confirmed fluid (infection) behind the connection and I was put on antibiotics immediately and scheduled for the drain. Mine is through my right butt cheek as well with a tube running down my leg attached to a bag (gravity drain). My installation was done under conscious sedation and numbing of the cheek under CT guidance, which sounds much more humane than the way yours was done. I am going back tomorrow for another CT to see if it has healed. If so, I am hoping to have the drain removed.

I will be meeting with my surgeon's PA tomorrow also and I will ask how common it is to keep having recurrences with the abcess filling up and will report back. This is not something I had ever heard of nor considered and is definitely something to be aware of.

This is my first posting on the site although I have been following all of you since my journey began last year. You have all been such a wonderful source of information and a huge inspiration. Thank you!

JanJan63 · May 2016

lhduffer said:
Abcess
I went in last Wednesday, 5/18, to have a drain installed for an abcess at my resection site. My LAR was on 4/7 and at my follow up appointment 5 weeks later the surgeon was concerned about my continued tailbone area pain and had me sent for a CT which confirmed fluid (infection) behind the connection and I was put on antibiotics immediately and scheduled for the drain. Mine is through my right butt cheek as well with a tube running down my leg attached to a bag (gravity drain). My installation was done under conscious sedation and numbing of the cheek under CT guidance, which sounds much more humane than the way yours was done. I am going back tomorrow for another CT to see if it has healed. If so, I am hoping to have the drain removed.

I will be meeting with my surgeon's PA tomorrow also and I will ask how common it is to keep having recurrences with the abcess filling up and will report back. This is not something I had ever heard of nor considered and is definitely something to be aware of.

This is my first posting on the site although I have been following all of you since my journey began last year. You have all been such a wonderful source of information and a huge inspiration. Thank you!

Thank you for asking about it

Thank you for asking about it for me! Mine did reduce in size by 80% according to the test I had done months after but there is still a pocket and my surgeon says there probably always will be.

lhduffer · May 2016

Answer

I had my CT and met with the PA yesterday. I asked her about how common the abcesses are and how common recurrence is. She said that they do happen with surgeries as big as the LAR. As far as the recurrence she said it is an individual thing and that she did not know the entire situation to offer an opinion. So the answer was really of no help. Sorry I couldn't have gotten a better answer for you. Hoping and praying that yours resolves quickly.

JanJan63 · May 2016

lhduffer said:
Answer
I had my CT and met with the PA yesterday. I asked her about how common the abcesses are and how common recurrence is. She said that they do happen with surgeries as big as the LAR. As far as the recurrence she said it is an individual thing and that she did not know the entire situation to offer an opinion. So the answer was really of no help. Sorry I couldn't have gotten a better answer for you. Hoping and praying that yours resolves quickly.

Thank you so much for asking.

Thank you so much for asking. I see my GP in two days and I'm going to ask him if he thinks this is something I need to be addressing with my surgeon.

Jan

beaumontdave · June 2016

Trubrit said:
Pain is pain, Dave
If its your pain, then it is as bad as others pain. You know what I'm saying?

I had a C-Section without anesthetic. Yes, you heard that right. It was beyond pain, but I would and could never say that it was worse than anyone elses pain, because, well, pain is pain and if we hurt, then there is no pain worse.

SUE

A Csection while awake? Pain

A Csection while awake? Pain is relative to how we perceive and react to it certainly, but damn Sue, that takes the cake. My wife was very tough with pain, she did the first four kids natural, no nothing, but she was out for the c-section with the youngest. She had four wisdom teeth taken out while pregnent, no pain stuff, and once broke her wrist at work and wouldn't say so untill the work was done. It all makes for good stories, but you're right, pain and tolerance are individual things and I wouldn't presume to know how someone else feels............................Dave

Abcess at Ressection Site

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