pattymmw

At this point, wet to dry dressings and steri strips are not going to do much. You do need to get started on antibiotics as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more time the infection has to get worse. Are you experiencing a temperature? Does the drainage smell or have a particular color to it? You probably shouldn't wait to call the doctor because now it's the weekend. You should go to the emergency room and get started on antibiotics to avoid being hospitalized and requiring IV antibiotics.

Hi, thanks for responding. I am also considering consulting a lawyer. I feel my doctor was negligent because he wouldn't listen or respond to my complaints for about a month. I had an infection (and still do). Another doctor admitted me to the hospital and finally the surgeon had to do something but by that time I was really sick. I had the band put in in august 07. A second surgery in January when the infection was found and he removed my band at the same time. The incision got infected so I had to have a 3rd surgery at the end of February and a wound vac was on my stomach for 8 weeks. Now the incision has reopened in areas and I still have MRSA in the wound. The surgeon just told me the other day that he thinks I will have to have a 4th surgery and another wound vac put on. My wound care doctor wants me to try the new antibiotics for a few weeks and see if it improves......hopefully it wil. Good luck with your case. I can imagine how hard it would be with your doctor in Mexico. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks, I am beginning to feel better, some days. I know this will all pass, I just hate that I went through getting the band on just to lose it and have so many problems. I know they say there can be complications but who ever thinks those complications can happen to them?

I was just wondering if anyone has consulted a lawyer reguarding complications? I really feel like my doctor was negligent by not listening to my complaints and I feel the infection got a lot worse because he woudn't listen to me. It was like he just wanted to put the band in, get the money and didn't want to hear that there could possibly be something wrong. I was sent to the ER by my regular doctor. The ER doctor saw inflamation around the band which indicated infection and he put me on antibiotics and talked to the surgeon on the phone. 3 days later the surgeon told me to stop taking the antibiotics and said I didn't need them. This is just one example..... Thanks,

I don't want to scare you......but here is my story! I had the lap band put on in august 2007. Went back to work 1 week later.....I'm a registered nurse. Worked for a week and was out of work for 2 weeks with pneumonia. The surgeon refused to believe anything was wrong so it was my primary doctor that did the xray and diagnosed. Things got better....I was getting my fills and losing weight. In the beginning of December I started having pain in my left side that would radiate to my back. The surgeon told me that it was normal and it would go away. After about 1 month of complaining I went to my regular doctor. I thought I was constipated....taking laxatives and drinking a bottle of tylenol every 2 days to try and keep the pain under control. After 2 cat scans and seeing a gastro doctor I was sent back to the surgeon. He said the only way to check was to do an exploratory surgeory, just laproscopic. I woke up with a huge incision and 2 drains in my stomach. He found a 'phlegmon' which is a big infection that was larger than a baseball and was attached to my stomach, colon and spleen. I was in the hospital for 7 days and released. 3 1/2 weeks later the incision started draining and got infected. By the end of February the surgeon decided he has to go in and clean out the incision. He had to cut away tissue and muscle and a wound vac was placed on my stomach and was there for 8 weeks. It turned out I had MRSA infection in the wound. Anyway...the first surgeory was January 22......second surgeory was Feb. 25. Here is it May 12 and I am still out of work.......still on antibiotics for the MRSA and I don't know when I will be released to go back to work. Be careful...trust your instincts....if you think somethin is wrong don't let your doctor tell you that the aches and pains are normal because they are not!!!