Little OT C Section Reopening After 5 MONTHS

15 Replies
aurorabunny - November 22

Hi ladies...have a question for you. I had my ds during the beginning of July, had to have an unplanned C. It didn't heal well and had some small holes, but eventually healed up. All of a sudden I woke up today and noticed pus, drainage...long story short I ended up being treated in the ER with antbiotics for a bad infection and have 2 big holes in my incision site!! I'm not really sure how this could have happened after it was already all healed, especially since it's been 5 months. It's so FRUSTRATING!! Just wondering if this is normal or if it has ever happened to anyone else.

 

cdmama - November 22

Didn't happen to me, and I'm sorry it's happened to you. :( Hopefully it heals very soon.

 

SonyaM - November 22

WOW, I have never heard of something like this after so long. Mine opened within a week or two but healed fine and it's been over a year now. My first section never opened and healed fabulously. Sorry you are going through ths.

 

Kara H. - November 22

You need to go see your family doctor. The only time I have heard of any wound reopening that far out was in a lady who didn't know she was diabetic. Not to say that your are diabetic, but their could be something else contributing to your body's poor ablility to heal

 

aurorabunny - November 22

Thanks for the responses all...I've been seeing my OB for it since he is the one who performed my cection...he's telling me that my body is rejecting my internal st_tches and trying to push them out??? Wouldn't they be dissolved after 5 months?? I think he might just be trying to cover his a__s or something. At least it is looking better today...I think the sulfa is working. Thanks again for your input.

 

LisaB - November 22

My uncle had stomach surgery and his wound reopened to the size of a quater- pretty nasty. He smokes like a mad man so they said that may be the reason why. However he is now fine and in great health the scar is barely noticable. So I have heard of it happening. I have heard it takes at least 6 months to heal completely. I hope you are better soon.

 

Nerdy Girl - November 22

I responded to your post about this in the C-section forum, but now see more detail here. From my experience with my c-section incision not closing (which I realize is different than having it open 5 months later), OB's don't know c___p about wound care. It's really unfortunate since they are indeed SURGEONS inflicting surgical incisions on people, so you think they would know a thing or two about wound care, huh? My OB, who I really actually like, told me to do things that are extremely outdated and have been proven to be more damaging to healing tissue than helpful. You need to call the hospital and ask to speak to the Wound Care Specialist, or Wound Care Therapist. There will be someone there, whether they are a nurse or a PT. But they will be the experts on the latest and greatest wound healing products and will really help you. Good luck!

 

aurorabunny - November 23

Thanks all and Nerdygirl...that is a REALLY good idea that I didn't even think of. I think I'm going to cancel my appointment with my OB tomorrow and try to get one with a wound care specialist on Monday. I am on the Sulfa antibiotics for the next 10 days anyways, so I figure as long as I get seen before than I should be okay. I don't really see what he's gonna do for me tomorrow other than tell me to dump hydrogen peroxide in it, which I'm not sure if I'm even supposed to be doing??? At least I can be thankful that it's my medical problems reoccuring and not my son's...always a bright side I guess.

 

Nerdy Girl - November 24

Whatever you do, do NOT dump hydrogen peroxide on it! That is what my OB told me to do, and that is what the wound specialists told me to never ever do. Hydrogen peroxide damages healing tissue, so it will take a lot longer to heal because you are basically killing all of the new cells every time you use the peroxide. My situation was a little bit different than yours, but I ended up using a special wound dressing called Allevyn. It was a like a miracle when I got that stuff. It was spongy and comfy and adhered well to my skin, even when I showered. And my wound started looked better by the day once I started using it.

 

Nerdy Girl - November 24

Keep us posted, Aurorabunny, on what happens. I really feel for you because I know that just sucks!

 

^lucy^ - November 25

my mom a long time ago had a bladder surgery.. her wound opened several times and she was so sick of that happening so she went to another surgeon and he was screaming like CRAZY that the threads used in the st_tches were not supposed to be used! i dont know how, but if she had sued the hospital she did the surgery in, she would've definately made lots of money.. until now, it looks nasty and has bubble like things on the wound from the skin! sorry if tmi :(

 

^lucy^ - November 25

by the way, sorry i didnt mean to scare you or anything,, i just wanted to share the story.. i meant to say that as kara H. and lisa B. said and many others here, there are several reasons for that to happen.. keep us posted anyway :)

 

aurorabunny - November 26

It's okay Lucy you didn't scare me, I'm appreciating all the input. The first time it happened I was really upset/scared, and I think this time I'm just PISSED. Haha. Well I have stopped the hydrogen peroxide now. OB had been telling me it was SO important but I checked it out online and it says pretty much what Nerdygirl has suggested to me. I'm getting my referral to a wound care specialist on Monday. I think the worst part to me is I've been so depressed about my weight and I was just getting into an exercise/diet routine and now I'm right back to having to be fairly sedentary again. Ughh. Nerdygirl, that Allevyn you mentioned; can you get it OTC or would I need a prescription??

 

Nerdy Girl - November 26

You don't need a prescription for Allevyn, but you can't just buy it at Walgreens or somewhere. Walgreens has to special order it, or you can get it direct from a medical supply place. I bought mine at a place in Wheeling, Illinois called Mark Medical. I have to look at the box I have, but there are several kinds of Allevyn. The one I used was (I think) Allevyn Thin. I think it's a 4x4, but I was able to cut it in half because the section of my wound that was open was just in the center of the incision. It's made by Smith & Nephew, so you can look it up and see if it looks like what you need. About the weight thing - it definiutely makes it so much worse! I am 5'8" and was 200 lbs right after the baby was born, so I too was dealing with the open wound and the excess weight. I couldn't even see my wound opver my belly without a mirror, so my husband had to help me. It's like everything going wrong at the same time - the excess weight, the wound complications, the lack of sleep and normal stresses of a baby. I really feel for you because that time was a serious low point in my life. My kids are now 4 and 1, and I am almost back at my prepreg weight. So things are on an upswing for me, except now we are getting into an unpleasant phase with our 4 year old. Ugh... it never ends, huh?

 

lovebugg42 - November 27

Did you ever get ahold of a wound specilist for this Aurora? When do you go back to your doc for it?

 

Brittanye86 - November 28

My inicision opened up about a week after my csection 2-3 inches long and tunneling underneath in both directions we have been cleaning (irrigating with half peroxide and half saline solution) rinsing with saline and packing with gauze strip since September 27th twice a day until 3 weeks ago and then once a day it's gotten much smaller but it feels like it's stalled on the healing process I've been back to work since the 14th and when to my OB yesterday and it's still about an inch deep... I'm very interested to hear what the wound care specialist has to say... keep us updated, hope you heal quickly I can't imagine this happing 5 months post partum

 

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