Does scar tissue usually make a healed surgical wound painful?

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No not usually.Scar tissue is an end result of the healing of the incision.The healing process will depend on a persons general health and skin condition,and even a person's race.Dark skinned people especially black Americans tend to form a "keloid" scar tissue which is raised , tough skin formation over the incision,and deeper inside the wound they tend to form "adhesion's" That's a very tough fibrous connective tissue that can also cause problems internally.Tenderness or soreness around the incision differs with each person.If you have problems see your MD. Take care. SW RNP  (+ info)

how shallow does my wound dehiscence need to be before it is stitched closed?

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I had a c-section one month ago. One week later, shortly after my staples were removed, a portion of the c-section scar reopened due to all of the collected fluid behind it. I believe this is called dehiscence of the c-section scar. The wound tunneled to be 9 centimeters deep. It has to be packed every day with sterile gauze. Just wondering how shallow of a wound it needs to be before the doctor will stitch it closed. I think it's about 3 centimeters deep now - so there's been significant healing over the past few weeks and thankfully no infection. My only problem now is the wound opening is very tiny (only large enough to let the stick-end of the cotton-tipped applicator in to pack the wound) - which is making it more difficult for my husband to repack everyday.
Just wondering how much more healing will need to take place before the doc will finally stitch it up. It's been over three weeks and it feels like a long time!
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Is it dangerous to leave surgical staples in?

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My friend has six surgical staples in his head from a wound. The doctor told him to come back in a week to have them removed. Now it has been two weeks and he still hasn't done it!He is worried because he doesn't have the money to pay for it right now.

What could he be risking by waiting to remove the staples? Will it get infected? Will he need surgery to remove them?
The doctor can still remove them, but he shouldn't wait too much longer
There should not be a charge to have the staples removed. It should be included in the wound care.  (+ info)

what is the best way to apply hydrogen peroxide to a wound?

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I have a surgical wound that is at the end of heeling and the doctor said i can change the bandages at home now. He said i should use hydrogren peroxide and then use neosporin and gauze pads on top to cover it. But what is the best way to apply the hydrogen peroxide? do i pour it over the wound or should i use a cotton ball? or is there a better way?
~~I had to do this for my husband and I just applied with a cotton pad. Not a cotton ball, they get junk in the wound. But a pad holds together and works really well. You can also fold some of the gauze over and just use that, same difference really.~~  (+ info)

How do I handle a wound infection after back surgery? I am under my surgeon's care.?

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I developed an infection in the surgical wound in my lower back about a week after surgery. I am now on antibiotics and see the surgeon every 2 - 3 days. The wound is still discharging some blood and yellow or white liquid. Do I need to be very careful of my activities? Is this wound dangerous? Is the fact that it is still bleeding some critical? I am not sure what to think, or whether or not to be worried.
I have had 6 surgeries on my spine and I've only had 1 infection. Just lucky I guess. As long as you are taking the antibiotics you will heal just fine!
FYI, you don't need to see the surgeon about the infection unless it's in your spine! I highly doubt that.  (+ info)

(re)opened wound of surgical suture? is it normal after 6 days? ?

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its been 6 days after the surgry and i had a quick shower and there was some blood (it might was caused by the fabric dressing strip). it is a tiny amount of blood there and i cant understand if the wound is reponed. of course the suture is still there. (i will go tomorrow to remove them)
of course they gonna see it tomorrow. i just dont know what to do today apart from waiting lol
its not dried. its vivid. i just checked it (2 hours after the shower, it is not licking blood, but it is vivid still :(
It was probably just dried blood dripping after your shower. if it had reopened you would know it. My Daughter had a C-Section and on the day her staples were to come out there was infection running out the incision. I took her to the Dr and he removed the staples. When he did the entire incision fell completely open clear back to her uterus (womb). He raked handfuls of infection out, leaned it up and told her to come back the next day. She had to hold her tummy together to walk back to the car. The next day I took her back to the Dr and his associate was there and when she saw the tummy she had a fit and wanted to know why my daughter was not in the hospital. We told the Dr what the other Dr had done just the day before. She sent her to the hospital right away to be admitted and my daughter had to have 2 IV antibiotics for 5 days every 6 hours and was not allowed out of bed. When she came home we had to have a home health nurse in 3 times a day to start. It took 8 weeks to heal and what made me so mad was I had kept calling her Dr telling him my daughter kept running a high fever. He just kept saying to give her Tylenol because it was her milk drying up. I think yours is from the shower if you don't see any infection leaking out between the sutures or if you are not running a fever. Just wait today and stop worrying. Take it easy.  (+ info)

how do i know if my surgical wound is infected?

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You may have signs such as redness and warmth of the incision. It may be draining whitish or yellowish drainage which may have a foul oder. Your pain level may increase and you may be experiencing a fever. Have your doctor paged if this is the case.  (+ info)

Tough one: Wound will not heal, small (1/4 in) section of a surgical scar 6 months old. Suggestions?

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The doc has given me plenty of suggestions, but nothing has worked. It just scabs over for a few days, the scab comes off, and the wound looks the same. I have tried vitamin E, peroxide, antibiotic cream, and zinc oxide. I also tried the sealing band aids. Also, this is an ostomy reversal scar, so the wound at one time was joined with intestinal tissue. My own theory is a small amount of intestinal tissue remains and will not heal (since it replaces itself every 3 days). Could be completely wrong, but I don't know what else to do and can't afford to take off work to see the doc again for a few weeks. Please give me your suggestions.
Negative for Diabetes as of my last blood test
There is no stoma, hence the word "reversal"
No harm in applying aloe vera gel (fresh), it has immense healing properties for the skin. Just take a small piece of the leaf at a time and remove the inside gel and apply on the wound for a few day. Apply atleast 5-6 times in a day. Aloe vera acts wonderfully on the skin and has no side effects at all.

Again test yourself for diabetes. If your sugar level is high it will hamper healing.  (+ info)

How long before I can wash my hair after being treated with surgical glue?

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I was in majors A&E last night after getting anasty gash on my head & concussion. The wound was treated with glue, how long should I leave it until I wash my hair?
Thanks
Provided you are very gentle and of course don't rub the wound itself, you can do this after 48 hours.  (+ info)

About an open surgical wound in my armpit...kinda gross (and long).?

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I developed a large lump under my right arm pit shortly after I got pregnant. My ob/gyn sent me to a breast specialist and they determined it was just breast tissue that had swollen due to pregnancy hormones. They kept an eye on it for my whole pregnancy, and the first year after my son was born. It started hurting when he was about 13 months old, due to constantly being squished under my arm and due to my son always kicking and pushing on my armpit while sleeping or nursing. I finally asked the doc to remove it. (I've had other benign breast lumps removed after they turned painful.)

Surgery day comes and goes, no problem. There was one long incision (3 inches) and one small incision in the very crease of my right underarm. They were glued shut, and had that white, papery looking stuff on them. All was well, until about 5 days later. I started leaking a pinkish fluid from the small wound. The white papery stuff bubbled up and looked like gray snot and eventually came off when I changed dressings. That was a Monday night, and I called my docs office the next morning, but they didn't sound concerned and said that I could just keep my scheduled appt on Wednesday.

When I got there, the doctor said "Oh, I see what's happened, just some fluid build up. I'll draw that off." Apparently, that meant going at the thing like a zit (no gloves) and shooting a pinkish, watery fluid all over me, the exam table, and even my shirt which was on a hook four feet away.

That evening, the small wound, which was about 75% open split the rest of the way, making about a quarter sized hole. You can see right into my armpit, the muscle mass underneath, everything. I kept it covered the first few days, but I developed a tape allergy. Every time I pulled the tape off, I would get huge, red welts on the front and back of my arm. I visited our company doctor who said that it's not unusual to leave surgical wounds open, and recommended that I quit using the tape and put my arm in a sling to keep the gauze in place. He also said the leakage is probably breast milk coming through the ducts near the wound. He said it was very clean, and to just keep doing what I'm doing (showers daily, and I dump hydrogen peroxide in it). I've not been able to keep up with the sling or the gauze (I have a 14 month old and a job). My next appt with the surgeon is on April 1.

So, my questions are: 1) Is it common to leave wounds open like that after they've split open? 2) Can I talk to him about closing the thing up or is that not a possibility? 3) Anything else I should be doing? 4) How long before this thing closes up? Thanks!
1. Yes it is very common to leave wounds like this open. Because it didn't heal like it is supposed to, it has to remain open. What will happen is it will heal from the inside out by closing it now it will keep the infection/drainage in and cause more problems making the incision bigger and deeper.

2. NO he will not.

3. Yes there is something called coband (i'm not sure on the spelling). It is a material kling wrap. You see it around people's arms that give blood. YOu can go to a surgical supply store to get it. this is non adhesive and won't cause the skin problems. Also stop using the peroxide it is a debreding solution which eats and good and bad tissue, using soap and water and applying a triple antibiotic ointment. For the wound to heal the wound bed needs to be semi-most (NOT saturated). Also keeping the gauze on it you don't want infection to set in. Then you can have serious problems that could lead to life and limb issues. So taking care for your self is the best gift for you baby and I know that it is hard to do, but you don't want to be hospitalized for something that could be prevented with proper care.

4. Healing time depends on how deep it is and how wide. Also if you are healthy without any other health problems. Don't smoke because that also delays wound healing. It may take up to a month or more. Also there will be a scar there now.  (+ info)

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