Hi
Can someone advise how long I should keep wound dressings on after keyhole surgery and lung drain please?
wound dressing : Hi Can someone advise... - The Roy Castle Lu...
wound dressing
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GGoyster
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Hello GGoyster
Sorry to hear you have had lung surgery. Advice on dressing changes and stitch removal are best guided by the medical professionals who are involved with your care. To give you a general idea though, it takes roughly two to three weeks for wounds to heal, the nurses will check and change dressings regularly . Stitches that are not dissolvable may need to be taken out by your GP or district nurses 5-7 days after your operation. This would include stitches used to close the hole for your chest drain.
You might find this link helpful
roycastle.org/app/uploads/2...
All the best for a speedy recovery
The Roy Castle Support Team
Thank you for replying. I have found this advice online myself but being discharged after two nights there are no nurses checking which is why I asked. I appreciate your help.
Best to contact your GP, practice nurse or 111 who can advise who and when the district nurse is scheduled to visit , it maybe that you have to make an appointment via your GP practice to have this done.
Will do thanks.
I too have been discharged without home visits. I have been told unless there is a problem it will be looked at 7 days later when I get my stitches out.
Hi Caroline, it’s good to know it’s not just me! It’s 13 days from being discharged until I get my stitches removed. 7 days sounds more sensible. Have you still kept the original dressing on if you don’t mind me asking?
I have not touched any of it and have just showered around.
Thank you. I had done the same but now removed one after a week.
my husband had same issue in that hospital discharge information was non existent but we found our gp practice nurse very helpful once we contacted her. We also discovered local hospital were not aware he was discharged with drain which meant it remained in longer than it should have and the stitches/ties that were put in at surgery had to be replaced so just ensure plans are in place for this and ask if you are not sure of anything. Good luck with your recovery
Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I do have an appointment with the nurse booked to remove drain stitches. I just wondered if it was best to remove the dressings from this and the other two incisions before this..I’ve taken one off to see what happens! I hope your husband is on the mend.
I think this is an area that needs improving for patient communication. I had an open thoracotomy in Dec 2010 and had been made to have a shower on my last day before I could be discharged. no dressing was put on my wound and I came home and showered every day - not having been told not to. I was told to go my GP practice to have my stitches removed which I did.
Unfortunately maybe as a result of showering every day and maybe not drying it properly or being over zealous with the suggested physio exercises, my wound started to open up at its base. I saw the surgeon for follow up almost a month after discharge (13/1) and raised it with the junior doctor who saw me first who said it was nothing to worry about. however I did worry about it and returned to the practice nurse who decided it needed packing and dressing. I had to return to her for the wound to be redressed 2 or 3 times from memory. She explained the importance of pain management as I'd come off all pain relief - fearing addiction- and explained the different type of painkiller families and importance of not overdosing on meds from the same family but also taking a longer acting painkiller to remain in the system all the time and a different type for shorter acting relief. She also explained about risks of driving and flying - neither of which had been mentioned in my surgical follow up. Only when I became involved in lung cancer care and research, did I also find out I should have been discharged with surgical compression socks which I wasn't! That was in 2010 so I had hoped things had improved.
Given keyhole surgery is supposed to be less risky especially for infection, I'd give the nurse or surgeon's secretary a phone call to check.... my thoracotomy scar down my back was long yet wasn't dressed at all when I was discharged home.
some surgical patients aren't allocated clinical nurse specialists to the same extent those having regular chemotherapy or other treatments might be.
wishing you a good recovery - do the physical exercises and use the breathing device if you've been given one.... onwards and upwards.
Hi Janet, I agree that better advice needs to be given on discharge. I saw the nurse today and my lung drain site is infected so I’m not sure if I could have prevented that by doing something I should/ shouldn’t have done.
Your experience sounds awful and also demonstrates the need to forward your own health. The pain relief advice sounds really useful as that’s not explained either. I hope you are in good health now and thank you for your response.
Hi again. I hope the infection has cleared up . I went to have my stitches out. The site was dry and looked good. By the time I got back home my clothes were soaked in sirous fluid. Went back to have them dressed and they are every other day now. Interesting about pain killers as I want after 2 weeks, to come off the codine and morphine I only take at night now. That has been due to constipation. Would be interested to know what everyone else is on.
Hi Caroline, I hope your site heals soon and that it is not painful.
I had keyhole surgery so came off the codeine after 10 days. Was your surgery the same or more invasive? I had to buy senna tablets! I take paracetamol mainly especially at night as find that uncomfortable.
I had keyhole as well but am still on coding twice a day . Paracetamol during the day and a shot of morphine at night. 13 days in .
Hi Caroline, I can’t see all of your reply for some reason. You certainly seem to have been given stronger painkillers than I have.
Are you still sleeping Sat up as well.?
I am sleeping raised by pillows on the opposite side to surgery. I cannot sleep on my back yet. It’s too painful. I find the nights are long.
Have you been able to go out yet?
The only going out I do is to the surgery for dressing and back. Out of interest if you don't mind. How old are you? I am 64 nearly 65. I don't remember all these complications from other surgery I have had. I was told to still sleep sat up. x
I don’t mind at all. I’m 59. I’m interested in the advice you have been given. Apart from an X-ray last week my after care has been non existent in the three weeks I’ve been out of hospital for three weeks. I rely on the Roy Castle booklet. Have you seen anyone apart from the nurse?
No only the nurse. Requested a doctor call today though. I have a pain around my middle which stings under the skin so I think it is nerve damage. We'll see. Otherwise my wounds are basically clear but they are dressed again til next Wed because they are still open a bit. I am still waiting for Biopsy results as well. We went straight to surgery as the Growth was too close to a blood vessel.
So you area week ahead of me. Will be interesting. x
Thanks for your reply. I am not sure if it helps but I had similar pains that I thought was nerve damage. I rang the hospital and they said it was a good sign that I was ‘healing from the inside’ and that a nerve had probably been damaged but was healing. This seems to be true as the pains, some of which were shooting, have gone away thankfully. I was worried at the time though as it’s hard to know what is normal. Good luck with getting your results.
I’m waiting for
Thanks for that. Xx
Yes thanks - all good now and at the time I didn't know what I now know about the importance of self advocacy and the need for clear communication for patients. Not worth worrying whether it might have been avoided - it is what it is but I'd be asking what to do/to avoid as it heals/recovers. good luck.
