swelling above port incision

[julier 0]

:help: i was banded on 8-8-06. About 10 days ago i started to notice a tenderness and swelling above my port scar. I have no fever nor does the incision look infected. But this is a bit painful and gets harder as the day progresses. At night i take a bath or two and it seems to soften the swollen area and also take the swelling down. I have provided my doc pictures but we keep missing each other. Anyone have any thoughts. I am leaving in two day and need to know what i am dealing with here.

[lexi85 0]

hi julier,

i was banded last fall and had a very lot of swelling above my sutures.

it was painful for a long time.

my surgeon put my port quite high and he said he would change it out to a lower profile sometime.

the pain stopped eventually.

what i found helped, was putting a tummy brace on during the day when i was on my feet a lot.

you can buy one your size at a medical supply place.

i happened to have one from a surgery that my son had on his chest and he was very large at the time. so it worked perfectly for me.

i had my band removed aug 1st, due to a slip and the area over the same incision site is swollen and hurts again.

so i am wearing the brace again.

it may have to do with placement as mine was just too close to the surface and high.

it always stuck out.

good luck with yours.....:huggie:

lexi

[nightingale2u 42]

Julie... I wouldn't consider it normal to have this suddenly occur. WHenever there is a major change that you notice post-op you should really notify your surgeon. This could be nothing and it could really be something... I would talk to you surgeon before you leave town. Hope you get the answers that you need!

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Julie,

As long as its not red and you dont have a fever and it isnt oozing anything funky, then it doesnt sound like a medical emergency. However, keep taking pictures to make sure it isnt worse and if it really freaks you out or causes you lots of pain in any way then you should see your doc as soon as you can.

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

I don't want to scare you, but I had a port infection 4 months post-op, which isn't typical either. They said what happened is the skin healed, but the infection was trapped underneath the skin. Mine presented with a painful lump and got worse, reddened and hot, after the lump/hard spot appeared. I eventually had to have the port removed, leave the incision open to drain for 2 months, then had the port replaced later.

If this in fact the case, you need to get seen asap, the longer the infection is there and festering (for lack of better word) it can 'travel' up the tubing to the area where the band latches around the stomach....you DO NOT want this to happen. The more localized the infection is, the better (if there can be a 'better' with a port infection:rolleyes: ). Best of luck, and get it checked out soon!