I had LD flap in December and then 3 months later developed infection in the recon, which the PS said must have been introduced when having expansion injections. Oral antibiotics didn’t work and I ended up in hospital for 5 days on intravenous antibiotics, which was awful. It’s now 2 weeks since I came out of hospital and a week since I stopped the oral antibiotics, and it’s starting to look red again but in a different place so I’m going to have to go back for them to look at it again.
Last time I narrowly escaped having to have the implant removed and the infections “washed out”, but if the infection is still there, maybe they will have to do that after all.
I’m really worried that if an infection could happen like that out of the blue there’s nothing to stop it happening again. Also, my scar has gone really red and weird looking.
Can anyone reassure me that I’m going to come out of this with a decent result? I’m beginning to despair.
izzibear i know just how you feel. I too have had a ld recon. I had it mid sept and had a nightmare with infections. The wounds took 12 weeks to heal due to surface wound infections and then just when i thought i was in the clear and there was only a few mm of open wound left i got a major infection, everything turning red and swollen etc. I was in hospital on iv antibiotics for 11 days, they opened up the back wound and washed me out and i saved my implant by the skin of my teeth.
i was a paranoid wreck when i came out of hospital, thinking everything was the infection coming back. I caught a chesty cold a week or so afterwards and was convinced the high temp meant infection. I would carry my thermometer with me and obsessivly check my temp. (I had dismissed 5 days of high temps as the flu when it had actually been the major infection) every ache or slight change in colour would have me panicking.
its now 4 months on and i’m doing well. I’ve had no hint of infection and have calmed down dramatically!
All i can say is that being opened up again is not the end of the world. When they suggested taking the implant out i went nuts, but only beacuse they didnt explain it properly. I was scared cos i thought i would either be left for months without an implant of need major surgery to fix it. When they take it out they usually make a small cut under the boob, like a normal boob job. They then usually clean you up, wait for the antibiotics to work then put a new implant in less than 2 weeks later. when they opend up my back it was a very short op and because they reoped an existing wound it healed within 2 days!
You’ve done the right thing my having this new redness checked out, even if it is more infection i promise you it will end and your end result shouldnt be any different. If you’re not already i would use bio oil on your scar, it has really helped the colour and texture of mine. also dont panic if you start shedding skin. a few weeka after i finished my antibiotics i peeled several layers of skin on my left side, i also developed horrendous thrush. This is just a side effect from the antibiotics and didnt last long.
You’re right about the infection possibly coming back at any time. my gp has prescribed antibiotics to keep at home and to take with me on holidays so at the first sign of infection i can take them.
sorry ive rambled on for ages, but i remember how scared i was after my infection!
Let me know how you get on
lou x
Thanks for your reply. I have just come out of hospital again, having had my implant removed. The surgeon said it would keep getting re-infected and the only thing to do was to take it out and leave it for at least 3 months, then start again. However, because I’m having both sides done it won’t add to the overall timescale because he’ll do the left side and at the same time put a new implant in the right, where I’ve just had it taken out, then both can be pumped up at the same time. So i have to wait till around August before that happens, with a flat chest on one side and a tiny, deflated boob on the other…just when I’d started feeling quite proud of my new boob! I had bilateral prophylactic MX in November 2007 though and have been without anything at all for over a year until the LD in Dec 08, so I guess I’ve got my head round things better because of that.
What I’m worried about is whether this will keep happening with the new implants - is it possible that my body just doesn’t like having foreign objects in it and will continue to reject them? I don’t understand how an infection can just start out of the blue 3 months after surgery when everything had healed up beautifully. Even now, my scars are intact (except where they’ve just reopened me) and the flap itself is healthy and a really good shape. I didn’t have any problems at all with healing after the original op. I guess it’s just one of those weird things, but incredibly frustrating and worrying.
My PS reassures me that the final result won’t be affected, but I feel as though this process is going on forever.
Izzibear