TOPIC: 17 years post-op

Day 8 update: still major swelling; pain slightly better; still worried about that hard lump of skin on right side of shaft, exactly where the excess fat was. Hoddle, did you say that you had hard lumps where the fat was removed? I just hope my skin hold up though this chaos and major stress.

Yes, I had rock hard lumps. One small lump was there for months.

Day 9: swelling of shaft is worse than it's been since surgery. This is starting to scare me, like it will explode. Pain is much better, but the swelling oh my. Dr said the other day that it all depends on me-how I rest vs over exert myself. But I'm taking it easy. Nocturnal
Erections are better. Should swelling be this bad after 9 days?

As long as there is no infection you don't need to worry. It's possible you have a seroma, but that isn't a big deal. Pain is better, which is an excellent sign you are healing. Swelling is an inconvenience, nothing more. How are the incision areas healing?

They're ok I guess. The incision underneath my shaft has had a small amount of tan puss like stuff looking like dissolving stitch. I don't know if it's puss though, no smell, nor fever. The incisions on my scrotum where the dog ears are are swollen pretty bad today and hard. What do you think about that? I know se says as long as no fever, but wouldn't the Percocet block fever, so maybe I do have infection

braveheart wrote: They're ok I guess. The incision underneath my shaft has had a small amount of tan puss like stuff looking like dissolving stitch. I don't know if it's puss though, no smell, nor fever. The incisions on my scrotum where the dog ears are are swollen pretty bad today and hard. What do you think about that? I know se says as long as no fever, but wouldn't the Percocet block fever, so maybe I do have infection

If you worried, you can always post some photos and I'll take a look.

I'm not a Dr so am hesitant to say for sure you don't have an infection, as my opinion has no medical value. But it doesn't sound like you have one. Are you sending Dr S daily photo updates?

Pics coming in 3 minutes. Your opinion is valued

pics here

Can't see any obvious signs of infection. Clearly there is a lot of swelling and it looks like you have a seroma.

Keep checking in with Dr S and I'd start wrapping it in a few days, but obviously ask him first.

You have to remember you've had quite a lot of tissue removed that has been there for many years. There is going to be dead space, so fluid will naturally build up there.

What do you think this cyst-like skin bubble is? It's on the end of the scar in the top scrotum/pubic area.

Just looks like swelling to me. It'll go eventually. Unless the Dr thinks there is infection, which he doesn't seem to, then everything is as it should be.

I think in a couple of days, even if there is no improvement, you'll start to feel much better. If your penis hasn't dropped off by then, I think mentally it will be much easier to accept there is nothing wrong and you are just very badly swollen and will be so for some time.

Saw Dr S today. He scolded me a bit, like a dad scolds a kid, in a caring way, because he wasn't happy with the swelling. He said it's a sign that I am not resting off my feet enough. He's right but I've been trying. Anyway, he said no infection, wound is not healed yet. He said he didn't like the speed of healing neither also resulting from my lack of rest causing the swelling and slow healing. He warned of the danger of the wound opening and need for surgery again to close it, if I don't reduce my activity. He said I was also putting on too much bacitracin. It should only be a tiny amount. If the wound is too oily, then healing will slow down, so it needs to be a little dry to speed the closing. No antibiotic necessary, just lay down. He has me worrying now about this darn swelling and effect on the wounds.

Swelling is much better today. Hope it stays. Main goal now is to get this incision healed. I think that was the focus of Dr's comments because if the incision heals, the swelling can be handled in time. I'm a bit confused about how to care for the incision. The problematic one is the one under my shady because it's covered by the shaft and not in air. Dr says to make sure I clean it and the messy build up. Should I wipe away the yellow fibrin material too, or leave it as it builds up during the day? I think he wants me to clear it all

I'm not sure what yellow fibrin is. Is it the yellowy gunky stuff that sometime builds up as incision lines? If so I used to clean mine off. I actually used to take a pair of tweezers and pull it off, as mine was sticky and hard to wipe away.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm referring to. I read online that it is fibrin a material that combines with blood as the wound heals. I just didn't know how aggressive I should be with clearing it away. I'll pat it with gauze to remove any loose material, but the gunk that is stuck on the wound remains. I think it should be cleared too, like you did hoddle