fluid leaking from incision

I am two weeks post op from a total abdominal hysterectomy and I have orangish, yellow fluid that comes out of my incision occasionally. The first time it happened it came gushing out like it was under a lot of pressure in my abdomen. There was quite a bit of fluid that came out. Now it comes sporadically and there is enough to be messy and get all over my clothes. I am not running a fever and I feel like I am healing okay. Has anyone else had this?

Hi Jenndu, I would definitely give the doctor a call right away on this one. I didn't have any fluid from my incision. The fact that it is an orangish-yellow also worries me. It sounds to me like maybe some sort of infection. I wouldn't let this go any longer. Give them a call and see what they say. If it's nothing, then that's great, but if it is an infection, it's better to catch it soon. Take care and let us know what you find out.

I did call the doctor on Friday and got the doctor on-call, not my normal doctor. He said he thought it was probably just a blood clot that was draining and to see the doctor today or call if I started running a fever. I had my two week appt already set for tomorrow so I am seeing the doctor then. Unfortunately my mind has begun to run wild and I was hoping someone had the same experience and could put my mind to rest. Maybe I will go ahead and call my doctor today.

Thanks!

HI there,

Before I had the TAH/BSO, I had surgery for a ruptured appendix. The surgeon made a longitudinal incision because he wanted to really take a good look around since it is unusual for a woman in her 50's to have acute appendicitis, so I was told.

I had the same kind of fluid come from the top and bottom of my incision. The doctor said it was called serous fluid and it just sometimes happened. However, my internist gave me a prescription for Bactroban cream which I applied twice a day. The package insert said it was indicated for post op infections and would work within 3 - 5 days. By the 3rd day, the fluid had stopped draining and I was on the road to recovery.

I know how upsetting this is for you. It is scary to think there is something is wrong with an incision.

Please call your doctor and let us know what he says. I am just offering my story to ease your mind a tiny bit.

Best wishes to you.

Happy Holidays.

Hi Jenndu,

I would call the Doctor right away. I got an infection 5 days after my surgery and it was exactly as you described. As soon as I phoned the Doctor they told me to come in right immediately. I was put on antibiotics and was told to cleanse the wound with Peroxide. It cleared up fine and I am now at 6 weeks post-op and feeling better that I have in years.

Take care, Sharon

I'm a little more than 2 wks post op too. At one week my incision got red and I was so cold (but I also got a respiratory infection too-cough,cough). DR put in two holes so it would drain. They said that it should drain a pinkish serous liquid. Cellulitis they said. 10 days later it's still draining. They put me on Levaquin (an antibiotic) which is helping all my infections, slowly but surely. The most important thing is to let air get into there. I was yelled at for using a sanitary pad. It won't breathe, so I have a sterile pad or gauze on the incision topped w/ several paper towels folded. Gotta change it several times per day. I go tomorrow so I'll see then just what they think.
At least you aren't draining the pus stuff.
You're not the only one.

My incision started draining with that color fluid about a week after my surgery on 9/4, right after they took out the staples and put on the steri-strips. They removed the steri-strips and started using Multidex powder and packing it with gauze wet with saline solution and then putting a bandage on top of that. I was also on antibiotics for a short while although there was not sign of infection. Home health care nurses had to come twice a day to my house. Then it went down to once a day when it was feasible for my husband to help once a day also. Now I mostly do it and my husband helps. It started out about 15 cm wide and 5 cm deep, but is only about 1 cm wide by 1 cm deep now. The doctor said it is not that unusual for it to happen, but it is unusual for it to take quite as long as mine to heal. They open it up and do the packing so it will heal from the inside out as it should, instead of vice versa. Hopefully, your incision is not as big as mine was and it will heal quickly. Good luck!

Hi Jenndu

I had this happen to me about the same time post op. Sort of a yellowish fluid - felt kind of oily. My doctor told me it was just normal serous fluid that drains off. Sometimes it will drain externally as yours has, but mostly it is draining within the surgical area. Mine did this on and off for about a week, then the area just dried up and it stopped. I like you, had no fever or soreness in the area. I hope that yours is just the same, and that it heals up quickly for you. But remember, if in doubt CALL YOUR DOCTOR and get his/her advise.

Yvonne

I recommend that you call your doctor now, and insist on seeing someone. Don't wait and don't let anyone tell you its normal.

I had a TAH-BSO on July 17. On August 3 I developed a small, tickle type cough and my incision started this nasty draining . Over the weekend, my temperature rose to 99-100 degrees , but since my normal temp is in the 96 degree range, I felt horrible. By Monday morning, I was up to 101 degrees and the orangeish drainage was down green and brown too. GROSS, and my incision was opening up! I was terrified! I called my gynecologists office at 830am and was told that he was off that day and I should call back on Tuesday! I promptly called back, saying that I needed to see someone today. I was put on hold for so long that I fell asleep and woke up at 11:30. Again I called the doctor's office and insisted on talking to someone about getting in to see a doctor today. I got a "nurse" named Katie, and told her about my fever, my drainage and my slight cough which I thought was worsening my incision opening and drainage ! I insisted on seeing a doctor, so she told me that the only time they had available was at 4pm that day and I better make arrangements for a ride now. In the meantime she would talk to the on-call doctor and get back to me. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to hang up the cordless phone, which had a dead battery (from my napping with it), and before I could get back to the bedroom, Katie was calling me back...maybe a total of 30 seconds. She left me a message saying that I should call my allergy doctor since she was sure this was an asthma problem, not a surgical problem. I called back and was told that "katie" was now unavailable to take a call. So, in 30 seconds she was able to get my file and consult with a doctor and get advice and call me back. I don't think so.

Well, Katie, the "nurse" was the medical professional so I followed her advice and called my allergist, who was on vacation but his office would get ahold of him and have him call me. I also called my internist, who was also on vacation, but someone would call me back.

To make a long story short, the allergist said this was not an asthma problem, but an infection in my body. The internist was too busy to see me and recommended I come to the ER. "Nurse Katie" called me back 5 times between 3-4 pm to find out what I was going to do. Now she cared! Earlier in the day, she was too happy to get rid of me.

We went to the ER, and I spent 5 days in the hospital with a staph infection that darn near killed me, I had another surgery to clean out the infection. The surgeon had to reopen the incision which set me back a couple of weeks in recovery, and I spent 30 days with a Vacuum Assisted Closure Pump attached to my incision, pulling out fluids. My surgeon told me that the wound I had after that surgery would have taken 4 months to heal without the pump, instead of 4 weeks.

CALL YOUR DOCTOR! Don't ignore any drainage problem. Don't let anyone tell you its normal until they examine it. If your doctor is not in, there is an on-call doctor. See a doctor!

One more thing...when I finally was discharged from the hospital, I found Nurse Katie on my voice mail 5 times! She was doing a heck of a job covering her butt. She asked me to call her and let her know what was going on. Well, I tried. But she was not available to take calls. I asked for her voice mail and was told that only nurses have voice mail in their office, and Katie was not a nurse! She was a clerical type person, giving medical advice to me over the phone! She could have killed me.

See a doctor!

I just found this site and am grateful to read of your experiences. I had a total hysterectomy, done through my abdomen on 11/20/01. I've also had some leakage and having allergies and a cough hasn't helped.

My doctor recommended taking cough syrup, which has helped the tickle. He also said to place a Kotex inside my underwear where I'm leaking so I was interested to read here that it doesn't breathe. It's bad enough to add padding in that area anyway.

I feel SO much better since my surgery but am nervous about the effects of taking Premarin down the road. Not looking forward to the adjustment period.


Jenndu I hope you are doing well now and the leakage is under control.

Beannie, my heart goes out to you for your horrible experience with Katie, the nurse from hell.

Reading all your experiences has helped me tremendously.

Thank you!