I had surgery in January but it seems as if yours will be a more extensive procedure than mine was. I had two 5x25 cm sections of skin/tissue/glands removed on either side of my groin.

It was really painful, but so worth it IMO. I was on pain killers (oxycodone for the first 2 weeks & then vicodin) for over a month just to function and was off work for over 2 weeks although it would have been longer if I did anything other than sit at a desk all day.

I had to have a drain tube on either side that was not comfortable and had to be drained at least once a day.

All of this sounds scary and if I had known how much this procedure involved before hand I may not have had it done. But again am so glad I did!

It has been over 7 monthes since I have healed and no longer have any pain. My scars are not pretty, but it is better than all of the unhealed sores and a 2+ in. sinus tract on one side that randomly seeped pus.

I have only had 2 abcesses that responded well to anti-biotics since the surgery and both healed completly.

Good luck with your procedure. Everyone is different, but I hope you have as good a recovery as I did if not better! I truely hope that you are pain free soon!

I hope I do as well. I was not told how extensive the procedure could be. I was only told that I would only have as much pain as I am presently having, and that I would need maybe a week off. I am a nurse at a nursing home and am on my feet 16 hours a day one week I will not be enough. Thank you so much for your input. What kind of treatment have you been taking to prevent other outbreaks.

Was your surgeries done by a plastic surgeon? I went to a general surgeon and he told me it had to be done by a plastic surgeon because to fix it,..I had to have skin grafts?

I see the plastic surgeon on August 4th.

I was sent by my general surgeon to a wonderful plastic surgeon. I have only had 2 abcesses since the surgery and both completly healed with Keflex. I use regular Ivory soap everyday as well as Hibiclens and it seems to be doing the trick.

IMO the reason things got so bad and required surgery is because I had let so many go without seeing a doc and they never healed right. So when I would get another close to an open sore they would come together and make a large abcess overnight.

It seemed that once they removed all of the old sores and my large sinus tract I have not experienced a bad outbreak since.

I have become very proactive about this now and wish I had been more on top of things before and maybe it would not have gotten as bad as it did. Right when I noticed both bumps I called my doc and started anti-biotics.

Thankfully, it seems if I catch one early enough, the anti do what they are supposed to and I have not had to have one drained since the surgery.

I hope this helps and good luck both of you!

Oh and about the skin grafts...I did not have to have any. My surgeon said that he did not want to risk doing that because healing is so much more difficult and with a 1 year old at home I agreed.

Because I gained so much weight with my pregnancy and then lost most of it after, the doc was able to pull my skin over 5 cm to close the incision. My scars are really wide. I probably won't be able to wear a bikini ever again, although with all of my stretch marks I don't I'd be doing that anyway!

Lots of factor. Size exact location. If your active at work . Do you sit at work. Invest In a donut that they give to people with broken tailbones. You will likely need narcotic pain meds. lortab percocet Oxicodon. The more often I have done dressing changes the better it has healed. Large areas my own thoughts and especialy for your first groin surgery it should be an overnight stay in the hospital rather than day surgery so you adjust pain control quickly to suit how it feels. Healing time varies greatly depending on what procedure is done. Radical Wide excision followed by skin grafts means a minimum of 3-4 days off after the intitial excision followed by 2-4 to allow granulation tissue to fill the excision and then the graft is placed. The graft requires one full week of imobility while it grows into the wound. Secondary intention requires a few days off rest and then is based on your abiltly to cope with the pain stress since you will simply allow it to close naturaly. Stitches and a primary closure requres sever days recovery then a post op 1-2 weeks latter to remove the stiches then very light and carefule movements for around a week so you dont open up the wound.

mispoke. after radical wide exision its 2-4 weeks to allow for granulation tissue.