bstew7890
Member
Hi everyone. I love this site and I expect it will be a great resource for me!
I had my AVR on Sept 14, 2011, just over 4 weeks ago. About 3 weeks post-op a hole formed about an inch below the top of my sternal incision. At first it was just a wider part of the scar, then beneath the scab was a hole about 1 cm wide and 2 cm tall. There was a small amount of puss inside. My surgeon stuck an applicator stick into the hole and was able to tap directly on the sternum. I'm not sure if this is common or how serious it is.
The current treatment is to pack the hole with iodine-soaked gauze (changed 3 times a day), and I am taking cephalexin orally. The gauze is all white when it's removed. After ten days of this there is little or no puss today (hard to tell) but still some white to be seen at the bottom of the hole. The sugeon says when the hole is all red or pink (no white) we will switch to saline soaked gauze and the hole will heal faster.
How does the treatment sound to you all? I know a sternal infection is not to be taken lightly. I saw some had mentioned a topical antibiotic cream when they had similar problems with their incisions. What was the name of the antibiotic? Any other suggestions or questions I can ask my Doctor about?
I had my AVR on Sept 14, 2011, just over 4 weeks ago. About 3 weeks post-op a hole formed about an inch below the top of my sternal incision. At first it was just a wider part of the scar, then beneath the scab was a hole about 1 cm wide and 2 cm tall. There was a small amount of puss inside. My surgeon stuck an applicator stick into the hole and was able to tap directly on the sternum. I'm not sure if this is common or how serious it is.
The current treatment is to pack the hole with iodine-soaked gauze (changed 3 times a day), and I am taking cephalexin orally. The gauze is all white when it's removed. After ten days of this there is little or no puss today (hard to tell) but still some white to be seen at the bottom of the hole. The sugeon says when the hole is all red or pink (no white) we will switch to saline soaked gauze and the hole will heal faster.
How does the treatment sound to you all? I know a sternal infection is not to be taken lightly. I saw some had mentioned a topical antibiotic cream when they had similar problems with their incisions. What was the name of the antibiotic? Any other suggestions or questions I can ask my Doctor about?