WATCHING THE HEALING PROCESS
Again, I want to warn you that what you are about to see are very graphic photos of my surgical wound and the healing process. I find this stuff “neat”, but many people may be disturbed by these. It is a deep wound in my lower abdomen that is healing from the bottom up with the help of mesalt gauze and a lot of tender care from a team of nurses!
We still can’t find our digital cameras in the packing mess so these will and have been taken with Roo, my, and D’s cell phones. Quality may not be the greatest, and there will be some missing and some in the wrong place as I get them organized – sorry! I hope this eases the curiosity of those who haven’t seen this before and of those scared of possible complications for themselves.
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FINAL WARNING FOR GRAPHIC (AND POSSIBLY GROSS) NATURE OF THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS
TENDER TUMMIES: I PUT THEM ON A SEPARATE PAGE FOR A REASON!!
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UNDERSTANDING THE WOUND
Thanks to a question from Venn I realised that I never really explained this whole wound thing…SO here goes:
A few days after surgery my wound started to leak whenever I sat up. Like a moderate trickle of fluid would run down from my staples when my abdominal pressure increased. After a few days of this, the surgical team decided to open up the lower half of my wound by removing the staples in order to provide open access to this fluid pocket. There were several reasons for this…First, there shouldn’t be a fluid pocket like that in my abdomen that has access to the outside world. Second, this fluid would very likely become infected if it weren’t already. Third, the fluid would block potential healing of the tissue back together by creating a physical blockage between the two sides of the wound. Fourth, if it did allow healing, it would only be at the top layer, thus producing an abscess (enclosed fluid pocket) below. For all of these reasons, they leave the wound open and pack it with mesalt gauze. This prevents the surface from healing and absorbs the fluid while preventing infection. The whole point of this is to allow the wound to heal from the bottom up, thus preventing any abscess formation or other complications.
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Week 2 Edema (First Week of June) – In Hospital
Open Wound - Week 2. You can see how large my entire body is from the edema, especially my abdomen in this shot (Jabba the Hutt comes to mind...). You can see the laparoscopy scars on either side (the black blotchy looking things with tape on them). The ileostomy bag is folded up to keep it out of the way.
JUNE 14th – At Home
JUNE 14th - The open wound with staples still in the top. I'm holding my ileostomy bag away from the open wound. The bandage on my lower left abdomen is the pelvic drain site. You can see my PICC line in my right bicep. This pic was taken at home.
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JUNE 19th – PACKED WOUND vs OPEN WOUND
Decided it would be cool to show you the wound packed with the mesalt gauze and then unpacked. Thanks to Mom for thinking of taking both pics and then taking them! (and we thought you had a weak stomach… :D)
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PACKED WOUND - The mesalt gauze has been in for a full 48hrs so you can see that it is soaked through with pus. This looks way dirtier than usual because it was left for 2 days and is normally changed every day. You can see that the staples are gone but now I have two drains on my left side draining pockets of infection from my pelvis and just below my diaphragm. The pink square in the top left (right in the picture) of my abdomen is skin stained by the cleaning solution they used before inserting the drain tubing. Sorry for the overexposure - we had to use the flash and it's only a phone...
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OPEN WOUND - Already looking a lot cleaner! She is injecting saline into the wound and then she sucks it back out again and discards it - this is how they wash the wound. The last of the water is soaked up with gauze using the tweezers you see in the nurse's hand below. This was taken minutes after the photo above.
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I like the idea of this comparison shot thing and I will try to do it again with better lighting. The rest of the photos are not in my possession yet, but I’ll get ’em up ASAP. Maybe I’ll take some drain photos too – they’re pretty nasty!
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JUNE 24th – Open Wound at Home and Morty Exposed!
Open Wound - June 24, 2010. I inverted the photo and now it's a mirror image - my stoma didn't switch sides, I'm just too lazy to fix it. You can see my pelvic and chest drains (the band-aid looking things with tubes coming out) and my open wound and folded ileostomy bag. Note how the laparoscopy scars are pretty much invisible now!
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A closer shot of the wound on the same day...this time everything is on the correct sides.
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Mortimer Exposed! Well, sort of....Estella snuck in and started wiping him as Roo got the shot. Next time I change the bag, we'll try again. He's MUCH smaller now - less than 30mm across.
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JUNE 30th – Step By Step of the Unpacking and Cleaning
Packed Wound looking a little cleaner and smaller. Belly button is starting to appear again although the scar above is starting to almost look wider...? You can see my ileostomy bag folded up on the side out of the way.
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Pulling the Mesalt Gauze Packing Strip out of the Wound. Adding saline prior to removal helps to make it less painful so the gauze doesn't stick to the surrounding skin.
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Necrotic Tissue in Wound. You can see the black tissue inside the wound, which the surgeon explained was totally normal and would go away shortly. It was almost all gone the next day. You can see the used Mesalt ribbon on the towel at the bottom of the picture.
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Cleaning Wound. They rinse the wound with saline from syringes and then use the empty syringe to drain the fluid back out. The last of the fluid is mopped out with sterile gauze using forceps. The really neat thing is that when you add the saline, there are small fat globules floating on the top (like chicken soup) which are from the breakdown of my fatty tissue in the wound! I'm sorry I can't get a detailed enough photo to show this. The towel and gauze keep me, my clothes and my ileostomy dry during the process.
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JULY 1st – MORTY’S “FULL MONTY” DEBUT!!
Morty - Up Close and Personal. You can see the skin around him is irritated from the appliance - I have been forced to change it more often because the moisture from the wound leaking is causing the appliance to lift and we're afraid that if it leaks, it may leak into the wound (that would be BAD). The white square on the right is the absorbant foam used to cover my weeping wound. Morty is less than 28mm wide now. I can't get over the fact that we are looking at the end of my small intestine folded back upon itself on the outside of my belly! It is amazing to watch him move with peristalsis. The small hole on the lower left of him is where the stool comes out.
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JULY 7th – Wound Healing Well
Open Wound - July 7th, 2010. You can see how well it's healing and starting to close up. The depth is about 1cm shallower than beginning measurements and same with width and length. I'm finally starting to have hope that it will one day close! You can see great scar tissue at the top edges and nice granulation (red) tissue inside.
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JULY 26, 2010
As you can see the wound is closing up really well! My skin around it is crinkled and irritated from the dressing tape, and it's shocking how pale I am - but that's nothing new. 🙂 They think it'll only be a few more weeks until I'm closed up and I can swim again! PS - My new belly button still trips me out.
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AUGUST 15, 2010 – CLOSED!!? 😀
Closed Wound (second belly button)! - After changing the packing to Aquacel (silver-based gauze) for a while (changing every other day) and then to just saline soaked gauze the last few days....it looks like I'm finally almost done! I'm going to keep doing the packing and bandage for a few more days - but I think I'm going to get to go swimming soon! PS: I have been putting a calendula ointment on the lapro scars for a few days and have already seen a reduction in their thickness and a lightening of their colour! I'll do the wound too when I'm sure it's totally closed.
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NOVEMBER 24, 2010
Fully Closed Wound
The wound fully closed within a week of the picture taken above, but I didn’t get around to taking another photo. This is what it looks like now – the calendula/vit E/castor oil cream has really helped to shallow up the scar. It still gets deeper when I stand or flex my abdominals because the base of it is attached to them, but there’s not much I can do about that.
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NOVEMBER 28, 2010
Acupuncture: Surround the Dragon
This is what happens when I get pissed off about the pain and ugliness of my scar. This is an acupuncture technique called “surround the dragon” where you needle around a scar, angling the needles below it to help break up stagnation and promote proper scar formation. I have to admit that it hurts like a mother f$*%&er getting the needles in because of all the nerve damage in the area (acupuncture normally doesn’t hurt at all), but then it feels GREAT!
Hi Katy! I laughed at how excited you are about taking nasty photos. I find these “neat” too! 🙂 I can, however, see us engaging in a nasty-picture war, and I can send you some words to google image lol. Good luck, hope you get to go home tommorrow! XO
Hey Katy… so glad to see you are doing um… well?
no seriously awesome work towards recovery and keeping positive and light hearted about everything. its the only way.
technical question for you….
why is there the open wound in the first place? is it because of the infection (ie they don’t want to wall it in?) or is there some other purpose? i know i know.. supposed to be an ND but they don’t teach us this stuff in school….
also just curious did you use any of the homeopathic tips and tricks for pre/post surgery… or was everything just too damn crazy to even go there?
all the best… i am in clininc until august.. maybe.. just maybe ill see you before i leave?
peace and love to you and mortimer
Hey Venn,
Great questions! I’ve answered the general wound ones on the wound page because I think it’s a great idea for me to cover that topic for all to read. There was definitely a gaping hole in my explanations!
I can tell you that going into surgery, I prepared with some Traumeel tablets but because of Roo and I being prepared to move, most of my stuff was packed so I didn’t do as much as I would have thought. It was also a bit of a whirlwind and I was so sick that I was more interested in researching the surgery itself and potential complications than I was in preparing for it – which seems silly now, but was the mental space I was in then. I did use homeopathy to help with my fevers prior to surgery and I will be digging out my hypericum ASAP to try to help with some sensation loss I have in my abdominal skin. I am also still taking Traumeel periodically, but beyond that – I haven’t done all that much. It’s funny how we can give all the best advice to others when we are in a good place, but treating ourselves in moments of stress is a lesson in futility. I should have tried to get more help from naturopaths – but I was really overwhelmed at the time (actually – I still am most of the time). I will be seeking more advice when I am strong enough to get out and get it.
I really hope that I can get over all this complication garbage and get to see you guys in clinic soon! Good luck with your patients!!
Eh the surgery? What happened to you?
I am just wondering because I have had an Ostomy for two years and I had it reversed October 2023 ., with a very successful surgery.
Oh wow – it’s been a long time since I’ve looked at this stuff! I’m doing really well still. All healed up and usually forget that I even had surgery, other than my poop being a different consistency than most. I did have to get a hysterectomy because of all of the awful scar tissue from the peritonitis. It caused my ovaries to ovulate into scar tissue forming cysts that eventually started to crush the ovary. But on the plus side – I adoped a child 2 years ago and am otherwise living the dream! 🙂
thank you for posting these pics i have been looking for over six hours for some kind of abdomen scars from absesses i have to have surgery do to them and like to have some idea of whats in store ffor me i have a compromised immune system and mrsa from an open wound so i am scared to death i know my healing time will e longer but these made me feel a little be
bettter so thank u for sharing
janae
Thank you for your kind comments Janae! I’m so glad that I could be of help to you in these tough times. It sounds like you have already gone through a lot and have a lot more ahead of you. If there’s anything I can do to help or you have any questions, you can always email me through my business website http://www.renewedhealthwellness.com. Good luck with everything!!
Dear Katy
It’s so helpful having someone like you share so candidly your experience, thank you.
My husband had a colostomy on Nov 7th last year because of bowel cancer, on 21st December it started to ‘telescope’ out. This morning he called me to the bathroom and asked me to photograph his ‘stoma’, it was hanging out by a foot this time! I’d like to put the photograph up to inform others. The poor man must wait for up to eight weeks from the end of his chemotherapy (13th June) before they will repair it. I have Googled prolapse stoma but none are as bad as his. I cant believe the hospital are so unsupportive.
Can you advise me on a site that might be interested?
Kindest regards,
Sue Eades
Hi Sue,
I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s experience, and I’m so glad that you guys are open about everything and want to share your information! I can’t say as I would know who to go to for that except maybe the Jpouch.net community?
Good luck to you both in your ongoing adventures!
-Katy
Has any one had black stuff thick and looking like liver start coming out their stoma after a few weeks of having it and things being normal???
You may want to look into what you’re eating, or perhaps get checked to make sure you don’t have a bleeding ulcer or anything. Black sticky/granular stuff can commonly be blood in the digestive tract. It’s definitely worth getting it checked out if it continues for more than a day or two.
What was the name off the cream you used to help fill in your healed wound? I had a c section/hysterectomy and the vertical incision got an infection. My wound looks similar to yours but bigger. Looking for help in getting the area to fill in. Thank you!!
Hey Katie,
If you mean how to get the scar to not be dented, it was cross friction massage and yoga stretching. It takes a long time to work that out and it’s quite painful – especially the cross friction. You can probably Google how to do it yourself at home but getting someone else to do it gets it done faster. It’s hard to cause yourself that much pain.
Castor oil applied topically can help a bit too.
I hope that helps. Good luck with your scar!
Hi. I woke up with an ostomy bag on April 2nd after going to the ER the previous night with Ann awful stomach ach. It’s been ALMOST a month and I’m still very hesitant about ALL of it. My 19 staples came out about 2 weeks ago. My stoma is impossible to GET USED TO. I hate it. I’m never comfortable, and THINK I smell even though Noone else does. My stoma area hurts. When does THAT stop hurting? I’m very uncomfortable with all of it. I think it may get reversed in a few months. Hoping anyway. Your posts did help me see its not the end of the world, but I still break down from time to time. IT’S AWFUL. Noone should g ave to do this. I realize it’s life changing, not life ending, but it’s just so gard to deal with. Clothing, getting tired, feeling big and fat, and just hurting. Although I am trying to make light of my situation with poop jokes etc… but when will the stoma pain stop? Thanks again, Jane.
Hey Jane,
I’m really sorry to hear how much of a hard time you’re having. I imagine if it had just been sprung on me, I would have had a harder time as well. I had a few months to prepare and get my head in the right place before my belly changed. I also had to choose between death and that, so there really wasn’t a tough time choosing.
Your stoma hurting does happen for the first little while when it’s healing. If it keeps up after another week or two, then make sure your appliance is cut to the right size and you’re using the wax seal appropriately. Sometimes a poor fit can make pain.
You’re right. Having to live with it all of a sudden is hard and is crappy. Try writing out how awful it is. Write down everything you feel about it from start to finish. When you’re done, take it outside and burn it (safely).
Most of all, know that you can get through this! Those few months until you can ponder reconnective surgery will fly by. Will it suck for a while? Yep! But then it’s over, and a while later you’ll look back at this time as a distant memory.
One day at a time, Jane. One day at a time.
Hi! First of all, I’m new here, stumbled on it while looking for answers for my problem.
Ok, now to the subject: I have a navel problem→ I think I…opposite of paste…unpaste? (English is my 3rd language) my rgiht side of the navel. Could be fungi, but…by the looks of it is more the 1st issue. I have this problem for 2 weeks. Got worried at first, applied some alcohol on it. It didn’t hurt, but i was bleeding a little. Due to occupied times etc, i forgot about it. Today, when i happened to look down, i saw the wound again. I’m not sure if it got worse… but i’m starting to worry again.
Tomorrow I’ll have a doctor appointement about it. Can’t sleep, I keep thinking of it…sometimes reassuring myself: “At least it ain’t bleeding!”
So…anyway, I know it can be healed, but… my main questions are→ Can i still do sports with this, without aggravating the situation? Would i bleed to death if I get punced in my navel?(hypothetically)
Hey Alex. I’m sorry the the delay in getting back to you. Unfortunately, I cannot answer your questions. I am hoping that by now you have gotten medical help and everything is all cleared up!
I totally understand what you went thru. I had a similar but not as large wound . Bad enough to deal with in my case a colostomy. Im so glad your wound healed well. Mine is all but healed. Just a small scab. I wish you a speedy and complete recovery.
I have a abdominal surgery wound that opened the day they took out the staples. It’s been almost 2 months and my wound is over 3″ wide and over an Inch deep. They cleaned out the dead tissue and put on a wound VAC. I developed a non systemic infection and am on bactrim. My visiting nurses and wound center can’t seem to get on the same page. Nurses say if you are suffering from infection then you shouldn’t be on wound VAC. I have a big muscle that runs across my wound bottom that is so hard to look at. Lots has happened including my flu like symptoms that no one seems to be concerned with. I call this wound my cavern because that’s what it looks like. I see your wound and hope and pray mine will close up soon to that size. I’d love to send you a photo to get your opinion. If you want to see it please let me know and continued good health to you. Nancy Miller.
Nancy – I am SO SORRY that I missed your comment!! It has been quite a while since you wrote, but I would be happy to look at anything you want to show me….although at this point I hope that you’ve already healed up and that all of that craziness is just a distant memory for you. I will be sending you tons of healing light!
Victoria. Hi, my Colostomy surgery was done 31/10/17, ( diverticular disease) on the ward for a month, keyhole surgery failed, so I too have a scar, exactly like u some staples were removed to allow drainage, now I am at week ten, and district nurses are still calling now three times a week, to pack the hole with Aquacell strips ( now just a quarter strip instead of original three and a half ) I think it will be another week or two before it is closed totally, I too have another tummy button ! Not funny……main problem for me is … i have advanced Rheumatoid Arthirits, and am not allowed my treatment for it until this wound has healed….( self injecting and methotrexate)joint pain is now as bad as it gets….so I cant wait….regarding ‘ IT’ my stoma, ( non reversable ) I have not bonded with it yet, don’t consider it a friend eithet, but am coping quite well , far better than I thought, even tho I have a couple of blips, one being a mucusy discharge from redundant back passage, ( has anyone else had this) it’s rather awful, v uncomfortable, and messy, also almost constant, and now it shows a little blood ….thats my story..
Hey Victoria,
I’m so sorry to hear about your surgery not being the initial plan either, but I’m so glad that you came out healthy and are doing well now! Having mucous rectally is normal for the first few months while you’re healing, but in my experience it can be a sign that you may have some food sensitivities that you’re still eating. Cleaning those out can make a huge difference. You can check out “elimination diets” online or contact me for an informational handout if you want.
Keep up the awesome work trooping through and healing! 🙂
On 17/012018 I am back on the ward, I have a Bowel blockage, the consultant has given me 24 hours more in the hope it clears, if not I will need surgery Truth is I can’t face it again so soon….has anyone had this done? Victoria
Sent from my iPhone. Vicky Cooke 😘
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Aw Vicky – I’m so sorry. Here’s to hoping that you pass it soon and avoid more surgery! I’ll be rooting for you!!