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Newbie VIN1 Rocovery Question
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Hi all, I'm new here. I have read many of your stories and I wish you all health and healing.
I'm hoping someone can answer a recovery question. I had Laser surgery plus excision for VIN1 on 10/6. My follow up with my Gyn/Onc is scheduled for 10/26. My healing seems to be going well in that I didn't have a much pain as expected and now at almost 2 weeks out can sit without squirming around *too* much. The swelling has gone down considerably. It's on the perineal area and the very bottom of the vaginal opening. They used dissolving stitches for the excision. My question is about how it looks and could it be infected? The area where they excised has white edges all around and everything is itching like crazy, mostly at night. It wakes me up. (Mother always said..itching means healing!). It's not easy to keep dry, but the burn feels rough and the excised part looks and feels scabbed over. The Lidocaine is keeping the itch at bay, but it just looks so so horrible with those white edges...anyone know if that's normal? I'm not in pain and do not have a fever. The spotting/sloughing is almost completely gone and there's no pus (ugh..sorry this is so gross), it's just the way it looks that has me a little freaked. Thanks for any advice you can give! I'll try to get into the doc sooner if this is a potential problem. Posted on 10/19/11, 02:31 am |
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It doesn't sound infected but I'd call your doctor and ask to make sure. It sounds like your surgery was pretty similar to mine and I also had itching at about 2-3 weeks after. I took benadryl at night to help with the itching. It just knocked me out so I could sleep. Don't take it if you are still on pain meds but if you are off them you can mix it with advil or tylenol. It really helps!
Laurie 
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Hi meesh - I agree that if you are concerned about healing or infection, see your doc or your gynecologist. I had some infection after my excision and saw a gynie who recommended salt water - that didn't help so I saw another one who recommended betadine. In the end what really helped (and my gyn/onc swears by it) is UMF Medi-honey ointment. If your local health food store doesn't sell it, you can buy it on line. It is all natural, amazing for healing and scarring, and I can't recommend it highly enough! Good luck and stay well...Lisa
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I had never hear of UMF Medi-Honey so I went to my source for complimentary medicine (Natural Medicine's Comprehensive Database). Here is what it said:
A specific commercially available wound dressing containing manuka honey (Medihoney) is an FDA-approved medical device Several small clinical trials and case reports describe the use of honey or honey-impregnated dressings for various types of wounds, including post-surgical wounds, chronic leg ulcers, abscesses, burns, abrasions, lacerations, and skin graft donor sites. Honey seems to improve granulation and epithelialization, reduce odors and purulent exudate, help clean the wound, increase eradication of infection, reduce pain, and decrease time to healing. I learned something. However, where wounds are concerned, be sure to ask your MD before putting anything on it. Lisa's MD recommended it. That's the nurse in me coming out. :-)
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PJ - I will be sure to run anything I do by the MD first- absolutely. The UMF Honey sounds like an amazing product (thanks Lisa!) but I'll wait on it until after I see the doctor next week. He has not instructed me to put anything on any of it except the Lidocaine gel.
I'm more inclined to go get the Benadryl, since the itching is driving me mad! I'm feeling a little better about it this morning. It still looks horrific, but the white edges around the incision seem to be a little less so maybe that's a normal part of healing/part of the laser burn and not sign of an infection in the wound itself. I'm still calling the doc today though to be sure. Thanks everyone!
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Called the doc. they don't want me putting anything topical other than the Lidocaine on it at this time due to my being only 2 weeks out.
The good news is they said it's not infected, it's all just part of the healing process and to call if I develop a fever or if pain gets worse. and...to buy Benadryl for the itching -Laurie's original suggestion! Thanks again to all who responded!
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Glad you are OK meesh...stay well! And on the medi-honey, we keep some in the house all the time now - my 18 year old came off his push bike and had horrible wounds on his elbow where all the gravel had gone in - usually these sorts of things get infected on him, because we live in the tropics and he's a bit slack at keeping it clean - used medi-honey this time straight away - no infection, no antibiotics - all good. So anecdotally, and with a specialist's nod of approval, I reckon everyone should have a tube for all that day to day stuff. Although I agree with PJ that with the surgical wounds you should always be guided by your doctor. Better to be safe...take care
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