Thanks guys for the good vibes.
Pellicle, I was never sure of the cause of the infection. I do know immediately after my 2nd surgery, my chest was left open due to swelling for around 5 days. That plus this being my second OHS I believe increased my odds of infection.
My chest incision closed and healed normally. My symptoms throughout were an accumulation of fluid in the chest that would force it's way out by tunneling. I'd get a small pencil eraser sized hole around my incision that would weep fluid.
All 3 of the operations I had subsequently seemed to be centered around wire removal and tissue debridement. The first by a general surgeon removed 1 wire. The second by both a thoracic surgeon who removed all of my wires & plastic surgeon who closed with a muscle flag revision. According to the plastic surgeon who also did the follow up, the 1 or 2 wires they left in “couldn’t be” the problem. In each instance after the surgical would healed, I would notice first swelling, then the tunneling, then the leakage.
The third surgeon (a good heart surgeon Dr. Mark Hill) removed the last of the wires previously missed and an abscess of fluid that had be painful at times for most of those 3 years. I used a would vacuum for closure and followed up with intravenous vancomycin. This surgery was about a year and a half ago and I haven’t had a problem yet (knock on modular office furniture).
While inconvenient and not fun to have to wear a bandage/dressing for most of the 3 year period, I never felt bad or had to limit any activity. My biggest concern was the sternum bone, pacemaker or mechanical valve getting infected and requiring removal.
I hope it’s over. I hope you get yours under control.
