Ran in to a problem after staples taken out

qwe
qwe Member Posts: 124
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Had the staples out and right in the middle of the incision it opened 1 1/2" long 1"wide and 2 1/2"s deep I kid you not they say it
is normal after this type of surgery the nurse put packing and bandage on it.I also have a nurse that will come to the house every other day
to change the packing and my bag they do not want me to do the bag on my own because of possible contamination.
I can not get GI surgeon near me right now cause I have an open wound and he did not do the surgery.
The nurse order me a wound vac they will hook me up to it on Wednesday I had the staples
out 5 days ago now I have a tiny hole that appeared today.

Has any one had a problem with there wound opening up after the staples or stitches were taken out or do you know of some one.Has any one here ever used a wound vac?

I am scared and need an answer now please help me.((((crying)))))

Comments

  • chicoturner
    chicoturner Member Posts: 282
    #2
    opening incision
    yes, I had colon surgery and My wound also opened, fortunately I was still in the hospital. The 2nd time they stitched instead of stapled and we all felt better. However the healing time is supposedly longer, but who cares, as long as it heals! I had a nurse came to my home every couple of days to check it and that helped me feel so much safer. The nurses hear were very comfortable about getting hold of Dr. in SF as needed. Hang in there, you will do great, it;s just one more curve ball you didn't expect. But pretty soon you will heal and be ready to take on whatever is next!
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #3
    Staples and wound
    It's not uncommon. I had most of my liver surgery incision heal OK except a section near one of the ends. A nurse came to the house a few times (2-3) and showed my wife how to pack the wound with gauze and clean it and all. It took a little while to heal, how long I don't recall, it was over 4 years ago but it wasn't that big of a deal and it's not uncommon.
    As far a wound vac goes, I am not familiar with those.
    As much as you can, try not to freak out about it. I know it's easy for me to say because I'm not the one who this is happening to but the best thing you can do is to try and stay calm.
    -phil
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    #4
    Donna has wound vac
    Shayenne (Donna) mentioned she has a wound vac and it was working quite well.

    qwe, I'm praying for you right now and hope all goes well.

    Diane
  • qwe
    qwe Member Posts: 124
    #5
    dianetavegia said:

    Donna has wound vac
    Shayenne (Donna) mentioned she has a wound vac and it was working quite well.

    qwe, I'm praying for you right now and hope all goes well.

    Diane

    wound vac
    How long Has Donna been on the wound Vac and do you know how much of her
    incision opened up is she still on it and did she have a stoma with a bag?
    sorry for all the questions.
  • beachinmom
    beachinmom Member Posts: 73
    #6
    Had a small hole for over 3 months
    Yes, I had a small pencil head size hole not even an inch deep for over three months. It eventually did heal, but was a pain---only because I couldn't take a bath or get in the water during that time.

    My grandma did have a wound vac and it does speed the healing. I also know that a high protein diet speeds healing, so make sure you are eating healthy. I know it must be a pain, but hang in there.
  • nudgie
    nudgie Member Posts: 1,478 Member
    #7
    Incision Infection
    My last surgery (colon resection), I had an incision infection which required re-opening about 1-1/2" of my incision and using packing material everyday with bandage to make the incision heal itself. The Packing material worked. I also had to use the packing material in the ostomy hole to close that up as well.

    It took a few weeks for the incision to completely heal.
  • Shayenne
    Shayenne Member Posts: 2,342
    #8
    nudgie said:

    Incision Infection
    My last surgery (colon resection), I had an incision infection which required re-opening about 1-1/2" of my incision and using packing material everyday with bandage to make the incision heal itself. The Packing material worked. I also had to use the packing material in the ostomy hole to close that up as well.

    It took a few weeks for the incision to completely heal.

    Hi qwe....
    I have a wound vac right now. I had a colonostomy done a few weeks ago, and had only 7 staples, and the incisions were very deep. I just got my staples taken out this week, they should be in for 14-21 days, and they never opened on me.... The wound vac is awesome, it helps heal the incisions faster then the wet/dry packing, and also keep the infections and bacteria away, that the wet/dry packing can sometimes bring on. I only need it on for a month. Since my surgery, a few weeks ago, it's shrinking everyday. A home health nurse comes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to change my dressing and hook the wound vac back up.

    I must say at the beginning, the incision was very sensitive, it would hurt so bad when they took the tape off, and the sponges that they use inside the incision, but it does get better, where you get used to it, make sure they use the alcohol adhesive remover when removing the tape, so it doesn't hurt so bad when they are taking it off, the tape does stick to the skin, since the vac is sucking in, it brings it tighter, it's a bit of a pain to lug around, you have to carry it around everywhere with you.

    Keep walking as well! the more you walk, the faster the healing as well! don't overdo it, and you can't get the dressing wet, so what I did was do my hair in the sink, then filled the tub with a little water, where it wouldn't get my bag or incision wet, and sat in it, took a rag and soaked it with soap and washed the parts of the body I could get wet every other day. I can't wait to take a normal shower, I only have 2 more weeks left and the vac will finally come off! the wound is looking really awesome, the doctors said it's doing a wonderful job, no infections, no bacteria, no nothing, it all gets sucked up in the vac! You learn to adjust with it for awhile, it's for the better, and supposedly will shrink your wound up nice and small :)

    Good luck with it, you can ask anything to me :)

    Hugssss!
    ~Donna
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #9
    steri-strips
    Hi Qwe,

    I did not run into your problem after surgery. I never had staples or stitches- my 8-1/2 inch long cut from the liver resection was just closed with steri-strips. I know I had sutures and a few permanent staples on the inside, but none of that on the outside. I was amazed, but I guess that's standard procedure for my surgeon. My incision healed well and the steri strips did not fall off early. In fact, I had to start working on getting them off because it came time to go for my follow up appt 4 weeks after surgery & it still hadn't started to come off yet. It was nice to not have to add staple or stitch marks to my already large scar. Anyhow- ask about steristrips on the area that has come open in your wound. They worked very well for me.
  • qwe
    qwe Member Posts: 124
    #10
    thank you
    Thanks for all your help I will have the wound vac put on
    April 22 and changed Monday, Wednesday & Friday.Do not like
    the idea of not being able to take a shower but oh will I
    got to do what I got to do can not sit in tub butt still
    hurts.LOL

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