Reversal surgical wound

Hello Richard,

Don't worry about the time it takes for the wound to heal, as long as it is healthy. Mine, which was 2 years ago now, also took a long time to heal. I was not worried, thanks to my nurse, confirming everything was going as it should. However, for the soreness where the adhesive is, I would ask the nurse to use a different one or larger sterilised pads to cover the soreness . She should have done already. You may have developed an allergy.

Good luck,it will soon become a bad memory and a pretty scar to prove you did not dream it 

Hi Richard 

I must admit I found my wound pretty worrying.

 went to my GP to have my staples removed 

Twas like a scene from alien with John Hurt. I was John Hurt and there were two nurses and a GP saying go to A&E 

Talk about drama Queens 

Long story short 

My consultant removed my staples and said that the wound would heal from the inside out. 

I had my dressing changed regularly and i had a little filler gel from a tube. I didn’t need packing. 

It took quite a while to close however there was no infection and I had dressings supplied by my nurse

Hope all goes well with you  

It does take a long time 

best wishes 

Hi there it seemed to take forever to heal and went daily for packing to the site it’s a distant memory now !! A year in . Good luck . 

Thanks Ann

What do you mean by packing?

My sis told me when there’s a deep wound they do not want it sealing over they need it to heal inside first so they pack it with a dressing before covering it over 

I didn’t need that but the nurses used a gel. Each time they dressed my wound they used less gel eventually I didn’t need the gel it was a flesh wound 

Its a slow process but you’ll get there. 

Hi Richard

It appears colorectal surgeons have their own preference as to which method they use for ileostomy reversal. At the end of January this year I went through the procedure, my surgeon used the ‘purse string’ closure whereby the wound is drawn into a circle and which remains open the idea that the healing begins from the inside working out. The wound depth is then measured and is packed with a special internal dressing and then covered with a waterproof plaster the size being larger than the wound. I was very fortunate to have a district nurse visit and redress my wound every Monday and Thursday for over a month. As the hole wound began to shrink in size a District nurse was only required to attend once a week. At first the wound would weep but gradually as healing took place this ceased. I was fortunate that I suffered no infection at the site. I can’t remember exactly when the District nurse visits stopped but I think it was around mid March. The healing is a slow process but certainly if you are worried you must seek help. Again I have to say how fortunate I was to have regular phone calls from my lovely stoma nurse who in turn if I was worried about anything at all she was able to speak to my consultant surgeon for any advice to give me. Maybe this is something you would be able to do? Being so knowledgeable she was the one person I knew I could always contact and in fact she was my saviour seeing me though all the dreadful post op ‘toilet’ problems especially when times became unbearable and I wished I had my ileostomy bag back! Almost six months I am still finding it difficult to work out how my bowel is going to behave each day but that’s another subject for another time! I hope you are able to get some positive advice.Wishing you all the best. Angela.

Ann, you described my experience so well. Mine was 2 years ago , but unfortunately, the toilets' problems can last a very long time indeed... the issue, if like me you have one, is called LAR Syndrome.

LARS yes I have episodes or spells of my bowel over reacting

Its always been an attention seeker!

there lots of support here if you need I try everything before I use the big guns. Lopermide really helps