Question for the Myectomy Folks

[mtlieb]

Hi All,

I'm going on five months now, and i've got an issue i'd like to ask about, albeit a kind of embarrassing one. I apologize if it sounds a bit gross, but it is a real issue nonetheless.

I've had what appears to be a row of tiny little pimples down the length of my incision. Every doctor who has examined me since the myectomy has said that it's completely normal and not any type of infection i need to worry about. Okay... that's fine.

However, within the past few weeks i have developed several bigger and deeper ones that are almost like cysts and are right inside the incision. These contained quite a bit of... well let's just say 'stuff'. This morning i noticed another one and i'm beginning to wonder what's up with this. They're big enough that when they drain, there's a noticeable little 'hole' in the incision, and the skin around that area seems a bit puffy. The incision itself does not appear red or inflamed... it is the dark pinkish/purple color that i would expect at this point.

Does this sound like something i should have checked out... or are these just tiny little pockets of infection along the incision that are completely harmless? I had kidney surgery a few years back with about the same size incision, but i don't recall having this happen.

Thanks for any input,

Jim

[Linda]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Jim, This sounds like a change in the last few wks. Have you been seen by a doc recently? It may not have been an issue when they looked at you, but if they are draining now, it's time to be rechecked. It could be a reaction to suture material or something like that, but if it is an infection, it needs to be taken care of. Watch for fever, etc, but I'm sure you know all that. My nephew and son both had one or two spots, but not so many. Theirs were suture issues and the surgeon fished out a tiny piece of suture, no further probs. Keep us posted, good luck, Linda

[Stuart Schwartz]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Did you you call Dr. Lever and ask him?
That would be the first one I'd call.

Stuart

PS: I just got back today from Cleveland. I had my 9 week check up
With Dr Lever.

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

I would not get too "worried" but I would check into it further. Call your local doctor and have him/her take a look at it.

Take care,
Lisa

[dughr]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Hi Jim,

I had the same thing happen to me. One was noticably worse than the others and so when I went back to the center they sent me to see the actual surgeon who did the surgery. He examined it and felt it was a reaction to the dissolving suture. (This is the part were I recommend NOT going to the surgeon. They are great at what they do but they have no concept of pain as the patients they see are asleep. So without anything to numb the area, he dug around in my chest like a blind well digger on jack daniels!) Go to your primary care and be sure it isn't infected. I actually have a scar from where the surgeon dug around. And that all happened at about the same time after the surgery as you are at.

Best of luck,
Doug

[Tigger1]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Jim, it's been almost six months for me. I have had the samething but not as many. They seem to clear up by themselves. Please keep me postedon how things turn out...


Tigger1

[mtlieb]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Hi All,

Just wanted to follow-up and thank you all for your replies to my post.

I recently changed soaps, but not really by choice... it was on sale at Walmart and i didn't have much money on me at the time. LoL. As a result, i've noticed a big difference this week! My incision is not as dark and i've not had any problems with what we discussed earlier.

For as long as i can remember (since the 80's at least) i've used Coast deodorant soap, and since they tell you not to switch soaps after surgery, i just kept on using it. But after purchasing some plain-old Ivory soap last week (like i said, it was on sale), I haven't gotten any of those little cysts along my incision and the incision itself has gotten noticeably less conspicuous. Could it be that simple?

I've never had any type of adverse reaction to Coast deodorant soap, but could it possibly have caused the problem i described?

Thanks much,

Jim

[shirleymahoney]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Jim

Ivory soap is exactly what the hospital told me to use and only that until i was totally healedit is going on 9 months now for me so i guess it would be considered healed, you really shouldn't use deodorant soap on your incision i was told not any powder bath sprays nothing

Shirley

[Burton Borrok]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

By Golly Jim, you just might have found the answer. I would like to tell you a little story.

In the normal manufacturing of soap they at least used to use lye and beef tallow in great vats to both cook the mixture and to whip in air. At a certain point they would add color, fragrance, plus various anti-bacterial and other agents, depending on the soap they were making. Actually Proctor and Gamble were brothers-in-law, one in the soap business and the other in the tallow business. Their dad or father-in-law convinced them to go into business together so they would always have a product to sell, no matter what the market as a whole did.

OK, back to the story. One evening while they were whipping up a batch of soap the crew went out to dinner together. Well, one thing led to another, and they missed the critical time to add the various perfumes, coloring, and what not to the mixture. As they usually did with a ‘bad’ batch, they cut it up into bars and sold it at a cheap price to the coal miners of Appalachia. A curious thing followed.

When a coal minor took a bath, the water quickly became black. Yet here was this white soap that had no additives to weigh it down, and it had so much air whipped into it that it actually floated. The minor’s loved it and kept clamoring for more. Proctor and Gamble took note of this demand, and the fact that it had no irritants incorporated into it so it could be used on wounds, rashes and abrasions without a problem. They hired an advertising company that both came up with the name – Ivory Soap, and the slogan – ninety-nine and forty-four one hundredths percent pure. (It’s all pure soap, but the fancy percentage caught people’s attention.)

So Jim, by switching to Ivory Soap, you have obviously eliminated some soap ingredients that were causing a problem with your incision. There has since been other soaps marketed which are hypo-allergenic and such, but Ivory has withstood the test of time. Another obvious case of serendipity for you my friend.
Burt

[mtlieb]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

Hi All,

I had my regular dermatology appointment on friday and while i was there he checked out my incision for me. Although switching to Ivory certainly couldn't hurt, he doubts that soap is an issue at this point.

He feels (as many of you suspected) that it is simply the body trying to dissolve and get rid of the inner stitches... and he said that the timing seems about right for that. It's perfectly normal, there's no infection, the incision looks great, and i should stop worrying about it. When and if any more occur... as long as they come to the surface and drain on their own, he feels it's better just to let my body do it's thing and not dig around in there.

He also told me that from a dermatologist's perspective... five months is still considered 'fresh'. It takes about 18 months total for the incision to heal completely, inside and out.

Thanks for all your advice...

Jim

[mtlieb]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

P.S. I went back through my posts just to make sure i had not been misleading about the issue (which thankfully i had not). There haven't been dozens and dozens of these things... in fact to date there have only been four total. It's just that you don't want to take any chances when you see drainage of any kind from an incision, right? I'm glad it turned out to be nothing.

[Reenie]

Re: Question for the Myectomy Folks

I'm glad it turned out to be normail healing stuff. Take care of yourself.

Reenie