Recent comments in /f/mildlyinteresting

buddincooler t1_jdq0j6y wrote

Reply to Incision in my arm that doctors left open for 2 weeks after a surgery. by soapboxingdaychamp

I had a pilonidal cyst removed from the base of my spine in the 70s. Not sure if they still do it this way, but stitching it closed was said to increase the probability of the cyst coming back, so instead they left a drainage tube in place and just sewed the top of my butt crack together. I woke up from surgery on my stomach and had to stay like that for almost a week. This was back when they actually let you recover in the hospital and not throw you out the same day.

3

JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdpzkls wrote

Reply to comment by NKevros in Incision in my arm that doctors left open for 2 weeks after a surgery. by soapboxingdaychamp

Yep, I was involved in an explosion and had an amputation. Helicopter ride and everything. I had a Fentanyl drip directly into my nerves in my shoulder for the pain. They gave me a shit ton of thin yellow gauze pre-coated in anti-bacterial goo, a bunch more dry white gauze for wrapping, and a shit ton of Suboxin to wean me off the Fentanyl while providing adequate pain relief.

Let me tell you, for a couple weeks there unwrapping and wrapping my burned, raw, open wounds, looking INSIDE myself for a while there, and treating myself alone (the Suboxin didn’t help much) was one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve ever gone through.

Really fucked me up inside, I didn’t leave the house for almost a year. Thankful the pandemic kicked off around then and I didn’t have to.

238

i_should_be_coding t1_jdpwcyx wrote

Reply to comment by NKevros in Incision in my arm that doctors left open for 2 weeks after a surgery. by soapboxingdaychamp

I had an abscess on my back. Went to a doctor who cut it open, drained it, and then put a bandage over it. When I came home I thought I'd need to change bandages at some point, and my wife was like "Why is your back bleeding?" and that's when I realized he never closed it up.

At first I freaked a bit, mostly because I never really expected my skin to just be able to open up like that with no pain. Went to a nurse clinic and they gave me some pads and instructions on how to clean it. As it was on my back, I couldn't really do it alone. If I wasn't living with anyone I don't know how I would have handled it. The doctor didn't even take a second to explain how to care for it after, tell me to go to the nurse's station or anything.

My brother saw it at some point and asked if I got stabbed. I was like "Yeah, but the guy was a doctor, and it happened in his office."

87