Post surgery questions re anal wound

hi Stevejhb I presume you have had APR operation,when I had this op back in October on my sixth day in hospital the nurse who was changing the pad told me the wound had healed enough and would be better left without any dressing on,and I had no further problems with it,I came home eight days after operation and for the first few weeks I used to try and do some short walks,an odd hour in bed or lying on the sofa, and a mix of sitting and standing for half hour periods at a time,the first two weeks were the worst and the recovery accelerates a lot better after that,regarding the wound yes your description is about right, and as the weeks go by it seems to just recede until it goes almost back to just a scar,I am six months on from the op and doing ok,when i sit on a hard surface it feels like there is a small lump where my bum used to be, colorectal nurse said that is where all the inside section is sewn together,be gentle on yourself as this op does take a lot of recovering from, and I found the colorectal nurses need to be your best friend as they are worth their weight in gold, wishing you all the best with your recovery,  cheers john.

Hi John

Thank you so much for this reply, it was really helpful and reassuring, thank you. Glad you are doing well.

May I ask, after they said the wound had healed, did you sometimes still get small discharge after? Can you remember when it was that you could wash the area first time?

very best regards - Steve

hi Steve, from the day I got home I never had any discharge and you are maybe it has not completely healed, would always say to get it checked by nurse specialist, i was washing my wound every day once I returned home, it was just a case of being very gentle for the first few weeks,you would probably be getting a home visit of the nurse, but with how things are maybe not, but if you have any concerns regarding the wound you must get it looked at as they can become problem areas, cheers  john.

Hi Steve,

I had my op in 2012, and when I got home from hospital I had the district nurse team in each day to dress the bum wound, and they also checked it for infection and make sure it was healing over. The healing took around 3 months, and a few months after that my wound started to give out a discharge. The original surgeon said that there was never any guarantees that these wounds heal properly, some even take years. Diabetes and radiotherapy to the site make it harder to heal properly. The surgeon tried again to get the wound to heal, but that didn't work and 8 years on, I've still got a discharge. Some days there are none, and you think that's it finally healed, but then it 'bursts' and you're back to square 1! After all of my treatment and surgery the GP then said I had diabetes, so I'm putting it down to that and the radiotherapy, and resigned myself to the thought that this is as good as it gets for me. 

But don't be disheartened, some people's wounds heal the way the should. I wouldn't worry about what the wound looks like just now - just let it heal in it's own time. And watch out for infection to the wound whilst it heals too. Your colorectal nurses and GP will help you look after the healing side.

Linda :-)

Thank you. Steve

Hi Linda, thank you for sharing this. Firstly I’m so sorry that you’ve had such a difficult journey with your wound. I really hope that you manage to have comfortable days and peace of mind.

Thanks also for information, which will keep me on my toes during the time it heals. Sadly due to Covid-19 there are no daily checks for me.

all the best to you.

Steve

Hi. I know you messaged this over 3 years ago but I was just wondering if you had the ‘mop up’ chemo whilst your wound was still healing? I’m 7 weeks post op and was supposed to start my mop op chemo next Tuesday but the nurse wants the oncologist to see it before we start. Unfortunately, for whatever reason I can’t see him for two weeks. My wound is about 1cm and it leaks. It feels like a paper cut.  Thank you for any info you have. I hope you’re fully healthy and healed now xx