Worried about a Port Site Skin Infection

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Hi everyone!

I am really hoping that I can get some information from people who have experienced what I am experiencing right now. I am 4+ weeks post-op and about 2.5 weeks ago I started developing a red, warm rash around my port site. My incision is completely closed over and there is no pus. It is pink/dark pink and warm to the touch and the skin sometimes feels like it is burned. My port is turned on its side but doesn't hurt. (The doc says it is still fillable and they will relocate it after I have lost my weight so it isn't so visible) There is one spot if I push on it the skin will start burning - not sure what that is.

Anyway, I went to the walk-in clinic over the first weekend I had the rash and was prescribed an antibiotic cream. I used that for a little over a week but the rash kept coming and going so I went to my family physician after about 8 days of the cream. She prescribed cipro (I am allergic to penicillin) for 1 week. I then went to see the surgeon from the banding clinic the following day (last Wednesday). He said you have a superficial skin infection, keep taking the cipro and come see me next Monday.

The infection seems to be improving but only by about 50% after 6 days on this antibiotic. So I went to see the surgeon again today and he prescribed a different antibiotic to start when I am done the cipro tomorrow morning. I am to go and see him again on Thursday as he is off on Friday and it is a long weekend. He doesn't seem overly concerned and said it should resolve itself but that my port could possibly be infected or if the infection doesn't clear up could possibly become infected. Then the band would have to come out, wait 8 weeks and try a new band (thankfully I have a 5-yr plan which is covered under the $16,000 I paid to have it done so all of these visits and any additional surgery will be covered) . He said there is no way to tell 100% that the port is not infected but he doesn't think it is. I am assuming that if this round of antibiotics doesn't work then the band will have to come out.

I am very worried and concerned. Has anyone had a similar experience and what was your outcome? Of course I am hoping for great recovery stories with a resolution after the antibiotics but I also want to be realistic about what I'm dealing with here.

Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to hearing your responses!

[BaileyRose 13]

I'm in the same boat as you. I just finished my round of cipro as I'm also allergic to penicillin. I've had no pus, just the same redness, swollen, hot to touch. My infection had mostly gone away, I think. It's hard to tell because it's really bruised now from being do swollen.

I asked my surgeon if I was going to have to have my port replaced and he said no... That a skin infection is extremely common and it almost always clears up with antibiotics.

I wish you the best! Hopefully we both clear up and have no more surgeries! I definitely don't want to go through that again.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Updating my situation:

The swelling seemed to subside significantly yesterday with

the exception of a small area around the incision (which is fully closed over) . This area seemed to get redder and almost looked like a big pimple under the incision. Well, this morning after my shower it popped. WARNING GROSS!!! A lot of blood mixed with clear Fluid (pus?) leaked out and the swelling under the incision is gone. It is still leaking a bit. And the redness there has somewhat subsided.

I am on my way down to the dr.'s right now so he can look at it. One thing I will say - they have been on top of things and willing to see me at a moments notice. I wasn't supposed to go in for my follow up appt. until tomorrow but he is seeing my at 1pm which is about as fast as I can get down there anyway.

Hopefully this is a good thing and means the infection will clear up and be gone very soon! I am tired of worrying and fretting about it.

BaileyRose - I sure hope your infection is gone and does not come back! My dr. did say this infection wasn't unusual and should clear on its own. Crossing my fingers for both of us!

[SlimbandSexy 1]

So I guess I am still in limbo. I am to continue taking the antibiotics but seeing as the infection is draining, there is a risk that the incision will open right up. If this happens over the long weekend I am to cover it with gauze and go in on Tuesday to see him. If it is open he will admit me to hospital and remove the band Tuesday night. I'm going in on Tuesday after I drop my daughter as school either way as he wants to check it again.

He said most often it clears up on its own and that is what we are hoping for. But he has had a few patients that have had to have the band removed. If the incision opens there is no option though - the band has to come out.

If I am concerned I can go to the hospital over the weekend and the surgical team will call the dr. and let him know what is happening.

So, we are supposed to go away this weekend camping in our trailer and I am still looking forward to that but there will be no canoeing or swimming for me - I can't risk it with this infection. We are not going far so I can get to the hospital in a reasonable amount of time if I need to.

I am so upset about this. I am stressed and just feel like crying all the time. I can't do much of anything because now I am worried my incision with gap open. And I am worried about the prospect of 2 additional surgeries (1 to take the band out and another 6-12 weeks later to put another one back in).

Aaaagh!

BaileyRose - I hope you're having better luck than me!

[BaileyRose 13]

Mine did the exact same thing. I was sitting on the couch watching tv and I looked down and my shirt was covered in that sticky, bloody puss. It looked like someone shot me haha. I was super worried so I called my doctor and he said that was a good sign because that meant my body was trying to get rid of the infection. It should close back up... Mine did. I just kept it covered and changed my dressing every few hours. It slowly drained for about 2-3 days. And tons of the swelling went down. It's healing nicely. My incision still looks like a blood blister but my doctor said with time that should go away. I really think you'll be fine :-) just keep it clean. Did he put you on another round of antibiotics?

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Aaah thanks BaileyRose. That helps me feel better. It hasn't opened up a lot, just a little and seems to be constantly draining this clear liquid mixed with blood stuff. It is all over my shirt too - thank goodness I wore a black shirt with patterns on it today so you can't see it. lol.

I did start a new round of antibiotics yesterday and since then have seen a big difference in the redness and swelling.

Crossing my fingers it doesn't open right up and everything heals over and goes away. I'm tired of being freaked out about it. My husband keeps saying be positive and don't worry about it. Easy for him to say - he is not oozing pus!

Guess I will enjoy the long weekend and see what happens.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Thought I would update my post in case someone is looking for information on this subject in the future.

I went for another visit with the surgeon today. The clinic and surgeon have been so great. I just got my kids on the bus for the first day of school and drove down. I hit a lot of traffic going into the city but they just saw me when I got there -no problem. And they have seen me on a moments notice too - excellent service.

So, I did 1 week of Cipro antibiotics - helped a little but not enough. Then a 2nd week of clyndomycin (I think that is how it is spelled). Infection is almost gone. After 2 days on clyndomycin the incision site popped (kind of like a pimple) and a lot of clearish Fluid drained out. When the surgeon saw that he said if it opened up fully they would have to take the band out but he thought it would be ok.

So, the incision opened up a little bit (on the surface about 1/4") but never exposed the band. Phew. So it continued to drain clear Fluid over the weekend but the redness and swelling lessened slowly every day. I went back to see the surgeon again today and he put steri-strips on the incision to help it stay closed and heal over. He said that the fluid that was draining was not infected - Yay!!!

He was happy with the progress but decided to keep my on the antibiotics for another 5 days. There is still a bit of redness and a little itchiness. I am to leave the steri-strips on until they fall off which should take a week or 10 days. Once they have fallen off he wants to see me again just to check everything over.

He wants me to wait for at least 2 weeks after my next appointment to get a fill. Fine by me - I started off with a small fill at surgery so I am at a pretty good restriction anyway.

So, the outcome is good. If anything changes I will update this post again. I am doing this for people in the future in case they are under similar circumstances. Unfortunately, we don't often see the final outcome of someone's situation.

PS. My port is flipped on its side but still fillable. They will move it to a less conspicuous spot after I have lost my weight.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Last update: for the future in case anyone is looking for information on this.

Another appt with the surgeon today. I did the last course of 5 days on antibiotics and the incision (where it had opened up a little) continued to drain a little bit every day. No swelling, a little residual redness that is scarring but should go away within 8 weeks.

The infection is officially gone and I have been off antibiotics for 3 days and no sign of it coming back. I am so relieved!

The only concern I had was that the steri-strips fell off after just a couple of days because the incision continued to drain and the Fluid dissolved the glue on the strips. So, the incision still hadn't closed and the granulated tissue underneath was kind of bulging through. This is a pretty chubby area on me and when I move around or even sit for that matter my stomach pushes out on that exact spot. Oh, apparently granulated tissue is good, healthy tissue.

So, the doctor put silver nitrate (ouch) on the tissue and then redid the steri-strips again. He put a lot more strips on this time. I guess he really doesn't want to stitch it.

I feel pretty good about it closing over and the infection is gone so I am so happy!

I am looking forward to my first fill in a couple of weeks. TOM arrived and has rendered the band almost completely useless. I still get a bit of restriction and I am being really good about sticking to the plan but the hunger is definitely there. Maybe the restriction will come back after TOM. I have heard that can happen.

Anyway, that is my story and if it can help someone or give someone a little comfort or hope that their story will turn out good too then I am happy.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

I guess I spoke too soon. It seems the infection has returned. The surgeon gave me a prescription for another 5 days of antibiotics. I am on day 4 and it doesn't look any better. Dang. He said that when he looks at it on Monday (today is Saturday) he will make a decision but it looks like the port and band must come out. My surgeon will not remove just the port because of the risk of infection migrating to the band and then erosion.

I am disappointed. Especially as he has said 6-12 weeks recovery before we can put another one in. Part of me is wondering whether I want to have it put back in and risk going through this again. Just not sure. Anyway, I will have to wait the 12 weeks because I plan to go away for Christmas and my travel insurance won't cover any complications from any procedures 3 months out of surgery so it will have to wait until I get back.

It is so disappointing because I thought I would have been exercising, feeling fitter and getting on with my life by now. I haven't been exercising because of the opening in the incision and the fear of sweating and introducing more bacteria. Sigh.

And the weekly (sometimes twice) visits to the surgeons office (which involves 1.5 hrs drive each way) has been a pain in the butt.

I was really hoping to be a comforting story to someone but I guess I am not. Hopefully the surgery can be scheduled quickly and I can get on with healing. I am planning to get my gardens cleaned up and my big pantry cupboard cleaned out this weekend. That way I won't be so frustrated about not being able to do much after this removal surgery.

On the plus side I will probably be able to get my home office paperwork cleaned up and maybe catch up on some movies I've been meaning to watch! LOL. And I am going to do my best to keep eating my 1 cup of food (mostly meat with some veggies) and hope I will lose some more weight between now and (possibly) getting my band back.

Not sure if I'll have to do the liquids and mushies afterwards but maybe that'll help take off some more pounds. Gotta look on the bright side of things!

[BaileyRose 13]

That really sucks. I'm sorry. I hope in the next couple of days it clears up. I'll be praying for you.

I've told my husband that if I have to have my band removed that I probably wouldn't get a second one because I don't want to go through that pain ever again. But I bet I would. Just because this is the first time I've lost this much weight and I know I'll never see it again.

I'm really sorry you're going through all of this. Keep me posted! I'll keep you in my prayers.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Well, I had the band removed on Monday evening in the hospital. My surgeon (the one that put it in) was there to do the surgery and everything went smoothly.

I came home on Tuesday morning and have been recovering pretty well. I now have 4 holes instead of the three I started with though. They must have lanced or drained the infection site. It is very bruised there and kind of swollen but the redness has gone down significantly.

I am not on antibiotics which I find kind of odd... but I guess with removing the band, draining the infection and giving me IV antibiotics on Monday they figure that is enough. And the infection does look way better.

I have an appointment on October 11 with my doctor to discuss what happened, what could have possibly been done differently and what my future with the band holds. They have told me they will put it back in after a 3 month recovery. At first I wasn't going to do it but I realize that it's probably not likely I will have another problem like I did this time. At least I sure hope not! One of the things I will be discussing with him on October 11.

Right now I am waiting for his medical assistant to call me to let me know what the surgical notes say and to confirm what exactly happened during surgery and what they found. Hopefully she will call me this morning.

BaileyRose - Thanks for your prayers. Monday was a rough day and I needed them. Hope everything is going well with you and you are healing quickly!!

[Msz Alie 0]

I am so sorry to hear that! I hope everything turns out well for you. I had one incision get hot and get a puss filled bump. After 2 days it popped, it was also a puss and blood combo. It might have been related to my port because it was on that side and it happened after my port area got red and swollen. I never sought direct care for it though. I went to the surgeon 2 dys after that and the surgeon said my incisions were fine.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Msz Alie - I am glad that your incision healed up fine and you didn't have any further problem with infection.

I think mine started when my port flipped and the tubing and edge of the port were so near the surface of my skin it sometimes felt like they were gonna pop through. I think bacteria gathered there and combined with the irritation it caused an infection that just wasn't going to go away.

My understanding is that once the port/tubing/band is infected the only way to get rid of the infection is to remove it.

So, it looks better today than yesterday and I am healing up. Hoping that because I barely had the band for 2 months that the infection did not get up to the band around my stomach and cause any erosion. I will find out when I go back to the surgeon on the 11th.

Good luck to you on your journey!!

[BaileyRose 13]

Oh my! I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this. I would be so upset if I were you... You're a strong woman! How are you feeling the second go around? After my second surgery(it didn't even feel like surgery because I was awake the entire time) I was expected to feel badly but it was easy. It's that laproscopic surgery that gets me! Oy vey! I commend your strength, that's for sure.

I'm praying there's no erosion. I'm sure you'll be fine. That's odd you aren't on any antibiotics right now... But I'm not a doctor :-) hope you feel better soon. Question: did you have insurance cover your first surgery? Will it cover a second band placement? I've always wondered how that works.

[SlimbandSexy 1]

Hi BaileyRose,

Thanks for your thoughts! I was a mess last Monday. My husband was working, my parents were babysitting for my sister and I was all alone at the hospital. To top that off I was worried about how my daughter was going to get home from school because she was on a field trip that day and wasn't going to get back in time to catch the school bus. My husband stopped by for a few minutes before he had to go home and get our daughter but otherwise I was alone there all day and went into surgery by myself. The nice thing was that both my parents and my husband were there when I woke up. I am feeling much better about things now. I am glad you are doing well and I am hoping everything clears up for you and you don't run into the same problem I did.

I think the reason they didn't give me any more antibiotics is because they removed most of the infection during surgery and dosed me up good with IV antibiotics. Any more antibiotics and I risk getting a superbug which I really don't want. I am keeping an eye on it and it looks better every day so my body is fighting the rest of the infection on its own. Yeah me! LOL>

I am self pay but my clinic has a really good guarantee. Anything and everything for 5 years is covered by them. Every check up, phone call, questions, fills, unfills, any revision surgeries are all covered for 5 years. Thank goodness for that! I could not afford to pay for another surgery. I am Canadian but lap band surgery is not covered here. The other surgeries are covered but the process is pretty rigorous and the wait time is horrible. Anyway, I didn't want one of the other surgeries. I wanted the band.

I am looking forward to meeting with the surgeon next week. I will be bringing my long list of questions and he has booked an hour for me. Wish me luck!