Port Tenderness and 1st Fill - Question

[cm6535 0]

I went for my 1st fill yesterday. I am still very tender at my port site. When the doctor was pushing around in the area to determine the exact location of the port I almost jumped off the table. He said no big deal just come back in a week or so when the tenderness subsides and we will do the fill. I asked at what point I should be concerned that I still had tenderness in the port area. He said that he wasn't concerned. People heal at different rates. My surgery was on June 8th. Just an FYI. My stitches were left in 7 days longer than planned to allow additional healing. (I heal really slow).

I guess since at this point I am still losing it isn't a big deal. But I do get hungry sooner than I did 3 weeks ago. So at some point I will need a fill.

My question is....... How long before the tenderness around your port went away?

[isaviolinist 11]

Hi -

The tenderness around my port area started subsiding after about a week (I was banded June 18th) and I would say at about 2.5 weeks the pain was almost completely gone.

I also had my first fill today but there was no tenderness and the fill needle was relatively painless. I had the fill under flouro which gave me piece of mind that everything was in the right place.

It seems like its probably right to listen to your doctor, however to me, a month and 3 weeks seems like a long time to be having port tenderness. Prolonged tenderness could mean a lot of things (infection, erosion) or it could mean nothing. It is something that would need to be determined by your doctor.

Also, was your procedure performed laparoscopically? What type of stitches did you have and why were they necessary? Mine were self-dissolving and underneath the skin (my incisions basically looked as though they were glued together....you couldn't see any sign of stitching). That seems to be the situation for most. How do your incisions look now?

Basically, if you really trust and feel comfortable with your surgeon then just do what he tells you and go back in a week. However, if it were me, I may begin the process of seeking a second opinion. Maybe give it another week or so. Good luck.

[cm6535 0]

Thanks for your response. My procedure was laproscopic. I had stitches that had to be manually removed. All of the incisions are completely healed. The pinkness of the scar is starting to fade. When I place my hand over the port area I can feel the port. If I put any pressure on the area there is tenderness. The only incision that is still tender is the one where the port is. It took longer for me to heal from past surgeries. When I had a hysterectomy it took about 12 - 14 weeks for the tenderness to go away. So maybe it is just a matter of time and the tenderness will subside.

I am not having any problems with eating, reflux, pbing or sliming.

I completely trust my doctor. He is very well respected in my area. However, if the tenderness hasn't gotten better in the next week or so I will have it check on. :thumbup:

[RestlessMonkey 7]

You already know you heal slowly, and internal "wounds" take a while to heal. If this is your history, if you don't have redness or a fever, and if you trust your doc, then you're probably good. I had little pain and healed really fast but didn't mash on my port at all. I didn't even know where it was until my first fill appt (at 6 weeks).

You know your body best. I'd guess that you are just healing slowly! The port is usually sewn into muscle tissue and it takes that a while to recover.

[cm6535 0]

Thanks for your responses! I love this site. You guys rock!!!