I have had this hole my right ankle for a 8 months now. It has had punch biopsies, gout tests, infection tests etc etc etc.........bloody etc! No specialist here seems to know what the hell it is after testing the muck that comes out.
It started as a swollen lump, then developed into a big squash ball size of fluid that would wobble as l walked. A couple of months ago l shoved a knife into it and and gave it a squeeze, and all this cauliflower type substance oozed out. This pic is of after squeezing all the muck out earlier one day. . All the specialists are stumped! The hole will seal over after a couple of weeks, then the build up of muck starts, so l have to shove a knife into it again...It's p1$$!ng me right off! NO one has an idea what the hell it is out of all of my specialists,...So, have any of you had this happen and what the flip is it? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Any ideas? (Soz for the gruesome pic)
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Chongo
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Darling could it have been a bite you had and didn't know it and it is infected and if so you will a different type of treatment methinks darling. Put a poultice on it to draw all the rubbish out of it. Hugs from the pom.xxxx
I’m wondering if it’s a bite of some sort. In Australia we have white tailed spiders that cause necrotising problems, and refusal of things to heal. Just a thought, hope you find an answer soon
I haven't had anything like that, but in years gone by when medicine was more old fashioned I used to be plagued with enormous boils. They would recur unless they were well cleaned out, and then packed with sterile gauze so they could heal from the bottom. If not, it healed just at the top and the inside got infected again.
It was horrible as the gauze had to be changed every couple of days, so this long length pulled out inch by inch, which was painful. And then repacked with clean gauze, which was equally painful.
Maybe ask your medical teams whether treating it like a boil might help it heal?
I was having a bad time with it one time, so my sister took me to the ER at Berwick. The doc (Butcher) filled the hole with about a 4 inch square lump of gauze then wrapped it up with instructions to pull it out after two days...I don't think l need to explain the cussing and swearing that went on as l was grabbing the gauze by some pliers pulling it out. And nope...it didn't work after a few attempts. All the docs here are absolutely stumped.
To make sure that it heals from the inside out (so there is no cavity) it should be packed and the amount of packing would reduce over time. But I’m wondering if you have a cyst sac. If so, you would need to have the sac excised first before the wound is packed.
I have had the whole thing cut out twice (Above is an old pic) and they used a thing that looked like a small hole saw to remove the core another time, but it will keep coming back. Once, a nurse put a cotton bud in the hole and it nearly completely disappeared in the hole in an upwards direction. It's weird.
That nurse copped a little bit of talking to and left the room after l told her where l was gonna shove that bloody cotton bud, hah hah !! She was only doing it out of her own fascination and interest. the F&*%%$$#%^&*U* !!
They have opened it up and drilled it 3 times total, and found nothing in there. So I don't know what to do now. The only clue is when it swells up before l cut it open, my ankle aches like hell. Then l cut it open, let the goo out and the pain goes almost instantly. It's very weird.
Yes. They have taken swabs 3-4 times, tested the goo after they cut it out twice and done a punch biopsy. They all come back clear. The doc did put me on an intense 7 day Doxycyline 100mg course just to be sure. Still no joy.
I have researched a specialist around here who is said to be a God for things that other docs can't fix...I am going to get a referral to see him very soon to clear this up. Enough is enough.
Oh Chongo.........for starters, stop sticking anything into it. You are probably introducing infection with every jab! Your specialists have probably given up because you keep opening it up.
The next time it needs draining, get someone who knows what they are doing to deal with it.....if it has been biopsied it is presumably nothing really serious. The surrounding area doesn't look too bad........so if you -keep it clean & leave it alone it will probably clear up.
After 8 months...if it was anything malignant.....your foot would probably have dropped off by now!!!
So keep it clean, if it fills up again..... get it drained by a medic & stop welding that knife!
Thank you, AC, for your advice. I did indeed keep it clean and covered with a gauze. I also stopped stabbing it. It took a few months, but it has gone away now. Thanks again.
How horrid for you. I feel sure Barrister is right that it does need packing asceptically with ribbon gauze ( not gauze sheets-ouch). Shorter length every few days. In the UK we have Specialist Tissue Viability Nurses. I fancy they would love a challenge like yours if you could send the air fare. I understand you poking it in desperation, but hope it clears up soon.
I Googled "Tissue viability" as I'd never heard of it. I have now found a place which specializes in this sort of thing very near to where l am at the moment. So I'm getting a referral ASAP.
Thank you so much !!
Actually........Thank you ALL for your help...I love this site...You folk are the best. ☺
Please ask for a tissue viability nurse referral . It needs swabbing and the correct dressing if not a pump to be placed on it to remove all the exudate . Don't be fobbed off and please stop squeezing and popping it or you could end up with a nasty infection 🤗
I am getting a referral very soon to go to a specialists center that treats cases like this. I am told the people there mainly concentrate on tissue viability and skin/soft tissue wounds that won't heal, and their success rate is very good.
Thank you and Norisa for mentioning tissue viability, l had never heard of it...It is what l Googled to find the center nearby. Now l just have to get in there and see what they can do.
The girls are really well trained , they will be looking at the depth of it whether it's tracking and exactly what's going on . Because it's like a puncture wound it will need to heal properly . They can source the correct dressing and that's the way forward . Be patient though it will not heal up in a couple of weeks and you must follow there advice as it's going to need to heal inside out if you get me . Hopefully you won't wait long Sian xx
If it is a cyst, it will continue to refill until the sac is removed. Look at YouTube videos of how a cyst sac is removed, but a doctor needs to do it so don’t get your pliers out again.
Hi Chongo if you mean Berwick in Oz there is a hyperbaric wound health place at St John of God hospital that may be able to help you if you have had it for over 90 days. They are experts at that kind of thing! Good luck.....it looks painful. Susie-Q
Thanks, Suzy-Q. I was going to go to a bloke called Paul Cashin who is apparently pretty good with this sort of thing...But I think I might check your suggestion out first because it's only a 45 minute drive from here to Berwick and the reviews l have read about the place are great.
No probs Chongo. Good luck! There is actually an article on the ABC news website today about an ulcer called a Buruli Ulcer (also known as a Daintree Ulcer) which has appeared in Qld, Victoria and Africa. It might be worth your while to check it out. It looks surprisingly similar to your picture. I couldn’t believe it after reading your post last night that the article appeared today! Hope they can get it sorted for you.
That's very eerie, 'cos l have just returned from visiting my mother and she said exactly the same thing as you, after l showed the hole to her. She showed me some pics of the Buruli Ulcer this morning on her computer and it does look very much the same...So l am going to call my doc and get an appointment for some tissue and swab tests for the Burili as soon as l can. (hopefully this week)
The main problem is... It has been going on for so long l think my doc has lost interest in it and me because he can not come up with any answers, so this visit l am going to give him an ultimatum...Either do something or I'm going to drop him as my doctor and go elsewhere!..Enough is enough.
Thank you very much. And if it turns out to be the problem, l owe you one. ☺
So glad your Mum could show you what I was talking about. It is pretty weird that the article popped up just after I read your post!
(And that your Mum happened to have read it also.) Hope they work it out for you. I will be interested to hear what the Drs have to say. Keep us all posted!
Will let you know what the F this thing is as soon as the dudes at Berwick let me know. My old girl has been doing a lot of research on this hole and that's how she found out about the burili ulcer.
Thanks so much for your help.
If you ever see a darkish, flat nosed, solid 5'11" looking bloke with a bit of tribal ink on his arms and a head that looks like it's been hit with a brick drinking in one of the pubs in the Berwick area, (Not Zagames!) while losing badly at pool and being a clumsy idiot, say g'day...It might be me, hah hah! I'll shout you a few refreshments. Manuia !!
There is an age old remedy which has stopped many infections suffered by friends and family. It was used by my friend and stopped her from having a finger removed after every antibiotic known to man failed. It is Epsom salts available from most pharmacies cheap to buy too. Just put a couple of tablespoons into a bowl of hot water as hot as you can stand but don’t scald yourself and soak your foot until the water cools down, repeat a few times a day if you can for a week or so has worked for very septic wounds in the past worth a try.
I used to soak my foot in a bucket of just warm water most mornings to soften the skin before l could stab it and let the ooze out (Not any more though).
So is it just ordinary Epsom salts that you can get from anywhere? I can certainly try soaking the foot in a bucket of salty water each day for sure. I just want this damn thing gone!
Thank you, l am going to give that a try while l have my morning cuppa and throughout the day a few times also. ☺
Just a quick thought..... are you taking Methotrexate? I had spinal surgery a few years ago and a small area would not heal for 6 weeks and needed packing every 2 days with ribbon gauze and colloidal silver. Turned out one of the doctors should have told me to stop the methotrexate as it's chemo which prevents rapidly dividing cells, which of course healing is!! Stopped the chemo and it healed within 10 days. Good luck hope it heals soon. 💜
G'day, SLEepyhead123. This lump of crappiness started about 6-7 months before the official R/A diagnosis and me starting on MTX. I also recall starting to get really ill around the time this lump started. (I knew nothing of R/A- R/D back then). What it used to do was swell up and leak overnight leaving some discharge on the sheets. l would then wake in the morning in hell pain and it was impossible to put my full weight on it, so I'd limp to the table and start my morning bush-operation session...I'd have to jab a knife into it, then a massive lump of white goo would come flying out...Then it would be instant pain relief...Instant! I could walk on it and felt no pain in the joint at all.
This is the weirdest thing l have ever seen. I have had many tests on it and all my docs are still stumped on what the hell it is, so I'm going to the place Suzie-Q suggested to sort this once and for all.
Thanks very much for your help and l hope you are well- Chongo.
15 years ago I had a severe case of shingles that ran down my sciatic nerve to my foot and through to my toes. The sores were open and oozing for more than four months and a series of doctors could not help me. The pain was excruciating. I had to buy two pairs of shoes, one a size larger to fit on my sore foot. The last doctor who looked at it jumped back and said ewe. She sent me to a dermatologist who saved me with a salve called ultravate. The sores started healing in three days. It did leave me with permanent nerve damage though. Hope you find the right doctor.
The docs have ruled out shingles after taking blood, tissue and swabs from me on a few occasions...Thank Christ!
My uncle had them about 10 years ago, he couldn't even stand under the shower as he said the water hitting him felt like hot needles piercing his skin. He was in a world of pain, and it sounds like you were too!..So I'm sorry to hear you went through what l understand is a very horrific, painful experience.
I am going to mention ultravite to my doc when l see him hopefully tomorrow..So thank you very much for the suggestion....Chongo.
Chongo could you have osteomalacia ( an infected bone) ? It is usually a serious condition , but I believe can be chronic too. Has anyone mentioned or investigated for osteomalacia ?
Thanks, Mmrr, that is another thing l will discuss with my doc when l see him hopefully this week.
I am writing the suggestions from all you great people and I'm going to give him a list of all of the things you folk have mentioned on here that it may be. This time l am not leaving his office without some sort of satisfactory answer...It has gone on too long now and if he doesn't start delving deeper into the cause of this damn hole in my ankle, l am going to sack him and go elsewhere to someone who gives a damn...I was only at his office on Monday for my blood results and it was me who bought the ulcer subject up to him before he even asked for another look at it...So he is now on his last chance...I want him to refer me to the center that is mentioned above by Suzie-Q and get this bloody thing fixed!...I am sick of him referring me to others who have no answers which puts me back at square one every time.
I will mention osteomalacia to him and just see what reaction l get also.
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Help/Tips needed for managing condition 
feeling sorry for myself 😭
I had the op not the one I went in for but hey ho
Degree of pain
Is this 'normal' for RA??!!
