Incision Problem continues....

[Kathy M]

I am so bummed.....

Can I just vent?  I had my second surgery in March to get rid of what turned about to be a tissue infection at the incision site (not bone, as they originally suspected).  At my late April appointment, all looked like it was healing great and was released to go back to work.  Yay!

Since then, the incision has been a variety of conditions - scaley at times with ridges; seepy and scabby; and smooth.  Just when I think that it is completely healed, it reverts back to scaley or seepy.  I've put vitamin E on it during scaley times, and it softens up to the point of bleeding.  Obviously, I stop using vitamin E.

Saturday, it started to bleed at the point where the staff infection had set in months ago.  No visible signs of infection, but it is really oozey and nasty.  What gives?!!!  AND, there is a tightness that wasn't there before - buy maybe I'm imagining things.

Tomorrow, off to the neurosurgeon's office.  I really love this fella, but I really thought I was through with all of this.  My hair is FINALLY long enough to cover and I really feel good!! 

Thanks for allowing me to vent....did I do something that I'm being punished for?  hahahah    probably not, but I'm tired of needing my head examined!!!

Kathy

[cin605]

My surgery was 6/08 n i am still having my head examined not for incision but for muscle spasm/headach...Its O.K. to vent here its actually very good for you...at least it is for me.I am sure you are not being punished!or what is it that we all did??

[moe]

OK to vent Kathy.
Seems like it is always something..... Hopefully just maybe some antibiotic or ointment required to clear it up
So don't worry about having your head examined! Better to get it checked out.
Maureen
You DID have a bad infection, so maybe it's just a teeny leftover part of it.

[lori67]

Kathy,

If you're being punished for something you did, I hope you at least had fun doing it!   

I don't blame you, I'd be frustrated at the whole thing by now too.  Enough already!

I hope this is the last time you'll have to have your head examined!  Keep us posted.

Lori

[Cheryl R]

Kathy, You might ask your dr if you can be referred to a wound clinic.  Most hospitals have them and sometimes the  nurses who do that are more knowledgeable than a dr.    You may need to  check with your ins ahead or possibly not.              Usually they have a dr thru them who "oks" what they want to do for a certain wound.                    I am getting out of touch with this since not working to know what the latest products and dressings being used.                 It can really help a chronic wound.           
                                   Good luck with this,               Cheryl R

[wendysig]

Kathy,

Sorry this continues to be a problem for you.  You are truly the Queen of the Ickyheads -- a title I held for a few months last year and was happy to relinquish.  I hope this clears up for you once and for all!!!

Wendy

[Kathy M]

Ewwww - "Queen of the Ickyheads"!  I like that...all of this should get us some sort of special distinction, right?!  I'm so glad to be reminded that I'm alone here.

Cheryl, I will ask about the Wound Clinic at my appointment today.  I never knew such things existed.  My March surgery to debride and get rid of the tissue infection included the head of plasitic surgery for the purpose of ensuring that level of expertise, but I never saw him again after the surgery.  Hmmmm....  I didn't even think about his involvement until you mentioned that specialization.  (I asked him to feel free to flip me over and do something about my nose, but when I woke up, it was still there, unchanged! hahahah)

Gotta have a sense of humor, right?!?  I'll give you an update on my punishment later after the appointment. Oh well, it got me a day off work today!! 

Kathy

You guys are just the best!!!!!

[HeadCase2]

Hi Kathy,
  I think you're doing the right thing to have your surgeon check this out.
  I'm obviously not an expert.  But slow or difficult wound healing can sometimes be indicative of some other medical problem.  When was the last time you had a physical?  One Mystery Diagnosis episode told of a man who had a very bad time with his incision healing after a minor surgery, and it turned out that he had diabetes, and it affected healing.-- (I watch too much of this stuff  ).
  I hope this clears up soon, and permanently.
Regards,
  Rob

[Debbi]

Oh, Kathy - so sorry to hear about the continuing problems with the wound.  As one of the "founding members" of the Icky-head club, I really feel for you.  Have you seen an Infectious Disease doc?  That's where I ended up when I came down with the dreaded icky-head last year - I saw him when I was in the hospital and then continued seeing him through the PICC experience. 

Keep us posted - and I'll send lots of non-icky-head ju-ju your way!

Debbi

[Jim Scott]

Kathy ~

Never feel a need to apologize for venting here.  We understand the kind of frustrations AN patients have to go through sometimes.  Your non-healing wound is certainly frustrating.  My wife had a similar situation with her back surgery 4 years ago.  She had a long incision that healed on schedule with no problem.  However, the very end of the incision (just above her tailbone) did not close and 'leaked' a bit.  Her neurosurgeon saw her, debrided the wound and put ointment on it.  Because my wife couldn't reach the affected area, I was shown how to apply the ointment twice per day.  A VNA nurse came in twice per week to inspect, clean and apply ointment to the wound.  Her neurosurgeon had her come every two weeks for an 'inspection' until the wound closed up.  That took about 6 weeks.  He had no explanation as to why the entire wound healed except for one small section.  She didn't disturb it in any way and was quite careful while she was healing.  I guess sometimes these things 'just happen'.  I know you were being facetious, but I really don't think you're being punished...just annoyed.   

I hope your doctor can facilitate the complete healing of your incision this time.  I think Rob may be on to something and I heartily agree with Nurse Cheryl that a wound clinic may be another option for you if this situation cannot be remedied by your physician.  Of course, I hope he can fix whatever the underlying problem may be.  Prayers and good vibes go out to you, Kathy. 

Jim

[CHD63]

Kathy .....

Just now seeing your post ...... what a mess (literally and figuratively!).  Truly hope you have some answers after your appointment today.

Others have already said it, but for some people, wounds can be very tricky to get completely healed.  I hope you are able to get a referral to someone who specializes in wound healing.

Hang in there ..... and vent away!!!!

Clarice

[Kathy M]

Well, I'm back from the neurosurgeon's office.  Kinda bummed, but much confidence in my doctor.  He says that the source of the infection has to be at the bone level.  He described the reason for why he believes this is the source and it goes back to what he said just after my staph infection.  At that time, we went a more conservative route, but in the end, it looks like we ended up at the same place.  I don't remember all the technical terms, but the source of the infection is the part of the skull that was removed during the surgery and put back.  Likely to be associated with the staph infection back in February.  If we don't go this way, the infection will keep coming back - treatable with antibiotics - but won't really ever heal. 

Less than 1% of folks go through this (lucky me) and I am really hoping that this is the last time I have to go through a procedure like this for my incision. 

Do any of you have titanium plates?  Any issues with it?  He described the surgery as 1 1/2 hours long, 1 night in the hospital, recovery 4-6 weeks at the very most, but could be as few as 3 and back to work.  Nothing like what I've been through before with the original surgery.  Thoughts???

Kathy

[Cheryl R]

Kathy, I am sorry to hear of your poor little head.  I was hoping just for a chronic wound issue.           Getting it fixed though sounds better than to keep having the problem and maybe become even a worse infection than what it has.         The overnight stay isn't too bad and there's no ICU like before as know when had my CSF leak surgery but a longer stay than this.                 There are some who have the titanium plate so they can tell you how it feels.           It's ok to feel frustrated by it and was not what  you wanted to hear.
                                                                      Cheryl R

[moe]

Kathy,
Well, I guess you need to change your signature, then
So sorry to hear about the depth of the infection, literally and figuratively.
Enough already
Hang in there, hopefully the surgery will clear it up for good.
So are they going to replace the infected part of the skull with a piece of titanium? How bout some cadaver bone instead?
I have a titanium  implant with the BAHA as does everyone else with BAHAs. Just feels kinda hard in that area,numb too. I have a bald spot where they shaved and put in the titanium implant.
The hair never grew back.
Did others hair grow back I wonder Maybe ask about that.
Hang tough/
Maureen

[wendysig]

Kathy,

I'm so sorry you have to go through this.  I have titanium plates and mesh and so do a few others around here.  I think Jan does and I'm pretty sure Michelle (mimoore) does.  No issues for any of us and since it is under the skin, yes, our hair did grow back.

Maureen -- I just thought you'd be interested to know that the bald area was intentionally made by your doc -- he removed the hair follicles around the BAHA site for hygiene purposes.  Since there is no hair directly around the BAHA site, it is much easier to keep clean and impossible to have ingrown hairs.

Wendy