For those with slow-healing or open wounds.

Several of us ladies have had to deal with slow-healing wounds, open incisions, seromas and the like. I am one of them.

I started with a small hematoma at 2 weeks post-op which seemed to resolve itself. At 8 weeks, after suffering with an increasingly painful lump for a week, my incision opened up, expelling serous fluid and blood. It seemed to be healing properly (my gyn said it was too small to need packing); then at 10 weeks I developed yet another lump.

That lump turned out to be a cluster of hematomas, only 3 of which were drainable under ultrasound guidance at the hospital. Shortly after that, my original 1/4" opening "unzipped" to become 1-1/4". It appeared shallow, and my gyn continued to check and clean it frequently. Since becoming wider, it has shown no progress.

Today I saw a wound care specialist at the hospital. After numbing the area with a procaine patch (no needle!), the doctor probed and opened the wound to a deeper place, probably/possibly (I'm losing track at this point; too much information to absorb) to an open space underneath, right down to the fascia and possibly the site of one of the old hematomas.

The wound has been packed and sealed with a dressing, and a wound vac has been ordered. It should arrive by Friday or Monday. I'll be visiting the wound center 3 times a week for dressing changes and will see the doctor once a week.


To sum up this very long story -- I AM SO GLAD I SAW A WOUND SPECIALIST!!! He uncovered something that could have turned very ugly without proper treatment.

It's especially nice that this hospital is only 1 mile down the street.

Dear Bunny,
Thanks so much for sharing your story!
I am REALLY GLAD you finally got appropriate treatment!
I hear the wound vac is an annoyance but it WORKS.
I'm just so relieved you will finally get good care.
My appointment at the wound center is tomorrow - can't wait!
How many people do you think have incision issues? Seems like a lot. The doctors seem to know very little and explain even less.
Best of luck on your new road to recovery!

Thanks for sharing your wound care info,Arizona Bunny.I am thinking maybe I should see one also.

The doctors seem to know very little and explain even less.

LOL, isn't that the truth! Believe, my wound doc will be faxing everything to my gyn; hopefully, he'll learn something.

I'll let you know how the wound vac works out, annoyance-wise. It seems very portable the way they described it, but the biggest challenge will be not getting the dressing wet. I'll be able to shower the 3 days a week that I go in for dressing changes. But since I'm a daily shampooer, I'm going out today for a short, manageable haircut. I haven't had a haircut since before my surgery in July, and I haven't shampooed my hair over a kitchen sink since I was a child. I'll have some adapting to do, but it will be worth it.

Dear Bunny -

We should invent a term, like Hyster Couture, or Incision Chic! I'm sure you will look like Princess Diana.

I bought a copy of flowy tops from Ulla Popken that make the "tent" look seem like you wanted it that way.

I went to the wound care center today and they were incredible! Such great people! They explained what is going on with my hole and gave some options for treatment if weekly debridement (ewww) doesn't speed up the healing. They also recommended packing the wound with plain gauze, not saline-soaked gauze as the nurse has been doing for the last 8 weeks. Seems like little stuff, but it's a big deal when you've had a hole in your stomach for two months.

If anybody out there is reading this and has incision issues... get to a wound care specialist NOW!

Hmmmmm, I hadn't even really thought about the clothing issue yet. I've lost weight and tend to dress like a hobo anyway, so all my stuff is loose. I'll get that figured out after tomorrow.

Yesterday they packed the hole with something about the thickness of felt, but with a smooth texture. The nurse put a small piece in my hand and then dropped a little water on it; it turned slippery and started to disintegrate. that's what it's supposed to do in the wound as it absorbs fluid, and is supposed to make it very easy for them to remove. It also contains some form of silver some-or-other (not nitrate), so it's antibacterial as well. They put a dressing over that, and it is so much more comfortable/painless than how I was told by my gyn to cope with it by myself at home.

When the vac kit comes it will have packing sponges that will be used, which will compress and flatten when the negative pressure from the vac is applied.

I'll find out tomorrow, up close and personal. Oh, and because of the location of the wound and the fact that the dressings will be sealed in, I ended up with half a Brazilian.

Half Brazilian and half... ? I'm sure there's a punch line in there somewhere!

Please keep us posted about the wound vac. I'm sure it will make a huge difference.

We need to get our sister LuvtoTeach to a wound care specialist somehow.

Brazilian as in extreme bikini waxing -- SNL did a hilarious skit about it once: "how wide do you want the landing strip?"

I had a wound vac put on after my TAH which was

I had a wound vac put on after my incision became infecter after my TAH which was Sept. 30th. I have worn the vac pac since Oct. 10th. I have a home care nurse that specializes in wounds coming in every other day for dressing changes. It is a small portable unit you can carry on strap on shoulder with a hose attached to it. It is a slowwwwwwwwwww not real fun process. The pack the incision with a sponge then seal it down and the vac is attached and sucks it all up. My machine runs for 5 min and off for 2 min. My home nurses and surgeon are impressed with how the wound is pulling itself closed from inside up. But was told it could still be 4 weeks wearing it. ugggggggggggggggggg. If you want to email me and talk about my experience I would be happy to share what I have been through with vac pac so far. Good luck to you.