I developed this extremely painful staph infection in both legs in November. Had no idea what it was but dr said it is very common and aggressive. It eventually healed and I thought it was over. Wrong. I continue to get these in various places all over my body. An ER dr said some people just end up as carriers and just have to deal with and hope that it never gets bad enough to require surgery. So, my long winded question is, do you think I'm going to have a lot of infection problems or possibly be denied surgery (lap band) because of this? My initial consult is 3/20 and I will ask him, but this is another worry that's been creeping into my mind...I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Have you ever heard of anyone being denied because of it, or is it possible to have a course of preventive meds?

Crystal, go and see an MD who specializes in infectious diseases. MRSA usually responds to a 6 week course of IV vancomycin. It's given twice a day and patients can self administer it with a PICC IV line and home care follow-up. I am assuming you had cellulitis of the lower legs. As long as your cultures are negative, surgery won't be a problem so check out the ID MD as soon as you can.

Crystal,

MRSA is everywhere nowadays, it has this reputation that it is some sort of evil monster that will track you down and kill you wherever you are. All it is is staph that is not sensitive to most penicillins. In and of itself it is no more harmful than regular staph, just harder to eradicate if it causes a clinically significant infection. There has actually been no research to show that 6 weeks of vancomycin is any better than 1 week of vancomycin, it's just sort of the standard. The problem is giving you 6 weeks of vancomycin would not kill all the MRSA on your skin, because hardly any antibiotic you give into an IV makes it through and onto the surface of the skin. All I would do with you if you were my patient is give you a pre-op dose of vancmycin. Insurance would not deny you because of this.

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

Got a question? Ask the doctor at www.TheBandDoctor.com

877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

I developed this extremely painful staph infection in both legs in November. Had no idea what it was but dr said it is very common and aggressive. It eventually healed and I thought it was over. Wrong. I continue to get these in various places all over my body. An ER dr said some people just end up as carriers and just have to deal with and hope that it never gets bad enough to require surgery. So, my long winded question is, do you think I'm going to have a lot of infection problems or possibly be denied surgery (lap band) because of this? My initial consult is 3/20 and I will ask him, but this is another worry that's been creeping into my mind...I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Thank you so much Dr. C. I've been so worried that I wouldn't be able to get the band because of it. Do you think since I most likely am a carrier, that it could attack the band even after it's healed?

Thanks,

Crystal

I doubt it.

I posted a link on the messageboard on my site that has some helpful info.

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

Got a question? Ask the doctor at www.TheBandDoctor.com

877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

I had surgery on 2/27. I, too, have a history of mrsa infections over the past 3 years. My infectious disease dr instructed me in some preventative measures... one is that I use Hibiclens when I shower. Since starting that, I have not had an infection (6 months). But, my question is do I need to worry about future infections from the band. My surgery had no complications but am I at risk for mrsa internally? Thanks for your help, Nancy