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i_should_be_coding t1_jdpwcyx wrote

Reply to comment by NKevros in Incision in my arm that doctors left open for 2 weeks after a surgery. by soapboxingdaychamp

I had an abscess on my back. Went to a doctor who cut it open, drained it, and then put a bandage over it. When I came home I thought I'd need to change bandages at some point, and my wife was like "Why is your back bleeding?" and that's when I realized he never closed it up.

At first I freaked a bit, mostly because I never really expected my skin to just be able to open up like that with no pain. Went to a nurse clinic and they gave me some pads and instructions on how to clean it. As it was on my back, I couldn't really do it alone. If I wasn't living with anyone I don't know how I would have handled it. The doctor didn't even take a second to explain how to care for it after, tell me to go to the nurse's station or anything.

My brother saw it at some point and asked if I got stabbed. I was like "Yeah, but the guy was a doctor, and it happened in his office."

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AlohaChris t1_jdr14fo wrote

Some wounds are too dirty to close, and need to heal by 2nd intention or granulating in from the bottom. Closing a dirty wound, even after you’ve washed it out, can lead to serious infection and sepsis.

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DongLongus t1_jdsfn2u wrote

I kicked a dirty old nail in a rotten board once but the nurse said I won’t need a tetanus shot because I bled all the dirt out after I removed the nail, sometimes bleeding is part of the healing process

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slowy t1_jdshv0k wrote

I don’t think that nurse was correct… keep your tetanus up to date anyway :)

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DongLongus t1_jdsk38g wrote

I mean I did bleed a lot immediately after I removed it, there’s no way anything that entered would still be in there it was POURING I guess gravity helped push all the blood and dirt out, can’t have tetanus in my blood if I lost the blood that was in contact with the nail lol I’m no nurse tho

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snefnugg t1_jdslxhy wrote

Bacteria dont really care about gravity

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DongLongus t1_jdsparg wrote

Blood does though, no blood to carry bacteria elsewhere because it’s all flowing out

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slowy t1_jdsrurb wrote

It is better for reducing the risk of infection when wounds bleed like that, but key word is reducing, bacteria can still be stuck at the edges of the wound with blood flowing past them, tiny pieces of dirt or rust can get stuck in the tissues if the wound is deep, and it is just not a 100% guarantee at all. It also definitely should be considered in the context of the treatment - a very safe, single vaccination, with good long term efficacy, ~10 years. It’s not like a risky invasive surgery or anything, just seems very strange not to suggest it. If you had got it in the more recent past maybe she was just reassuring you?

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DongLongus t1_jdtajlw wrote

It was a galvanized nail so no rust, the only thing I was worried about was that it was in rotten wood but he said I bled out a lot and I got it cleaned with soap and water, the bleeding was enough to get rid of any dirty blood, it sounds like people think I’m some sort of antivaxxer for saying that when you bleed it gets rid of anything that might cause infection so sometimes it’s better to control the bleed then contain everything immediately

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No-Elk-6499 t1_jdqfc72 wrote

Ya, if it’s a big one they might let it drain nowadays by leaving a stitch or two out. I think they do that sometimes if they’re worried it’ll fill or they missed a peace of the sac.

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Viridia411 t1_jdqs77z wrote

I had a similar surgery on the bottom of my back, down into my buttcrack a little, and it had to be kept open to heal from the inside out, i got a home care taker to come over twice a day to pull out the gauze clean it and stuff new gauze in :p

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supapoopascoopa t1_jdrbfyq wrote

We don't close these back up. The whole point is to let them drain. He definitely should have given you info on dressing changes, and usually come back for a wound check and packing removal.

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i_should_be_coding t1_jdrckx9 wrote

There was no packing, lol. He just put some gauze on it and sent me home. I had a blood stain on my car seat after the drive.

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Zalenka t1_jdr39a0 wrote

I had a friend that had a similar thing and they said it had to heal inside out. I helped him clean it and maintain for a couple weeks. It was odd but it healed perfectly.

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