Opened wound not healing 6 weeks after WLE

Hey WJaney

Sorry you’re having problems with this, I remember you being concerned about it after your biopsy experience :-(

I don’t have much to offer to be honest, all my proper wounds healed really well - the only troublesome one was the drain hole after my groin dissection! It took forever (not 6-weeks I’m clearly exaggerating) to close properly, and they kept putting manuka dressings on that, whereas I felt like it needed to properly  dry out and scab over... Hopefully someone else might have more useful advice.

I guess I’d say make sure you’re getting a decent diet to give your body a helping hand - plenty of protein and vitamins. Good luck with it though, must be incredibly annoying when you’ve got the worst of it over with.

x

Hi WJaney,

sorry you're not all better now !

I don’t have my stitches out til tomorrow so am hoping mine has healed ok , I didn’t have a skin graft in the end so it was very tight. I had my dressing changed last week , and haven’t removed since. I was surprised from last time that they now expect you to keep the same one for as long as possible .. assume it cuts down the risk of infection.my groin has healed ok. 

Ive been taking collagen tablets , read somewhere it helps healing. Worth a go I thought .. have also added vit d, turmeric tablets and glucosamine in hope they do some magic too. Oh and ordered a batch of cherry juice .. what else can you do with your feet up for 2 wks ? Thank goodness for amazon !

Hi WJaney ,

I am in a similar situation as you. I had my WLE on my lower calf on 3rd February and had my stitches removed on 17th February and it looked as though the bottom of the wound had not closed over, but the nurse reckoned it was fine. 

last Tuesday I had a dermatology appointment at the hospital (acne) and they gave me antibiotic ointment as I mentioned it looked infected. Honestly, it looked rancid. I didn’t have an issue with my first biopsy, and didn’t do anything different this time around, so luck of the draw there. 

the ointment did not help, if anything it made things work and by last Friday it felt painful to walk on the leg (as if it were the first few days after WLE). So GP took a look and I’m on a course of antibiotics. Pain is gone, redness is definitely down, but the scabbing on the open part of the wound is hard to look at still lol. 

sorry for rambling, it seemed as though GP wasn’t overly concerned that the wound had opened and said WLE generally take a longer period of time to heal etc, so try not to worry. 

at this point I’m just dying to get some normality back

sarah :) 

Thanks yes it is taking longer than the biopsy wound. I have another appointment at the practice nurse tomorrow so fingers crossed it will be a bit better. The main issue I think is a bit of stubborn slough that won’t come out and is stopping it healing over.

Think I’m just being a bit of a diva and getting frustrated. I have a hen day at a spa (bridesmaid for a friend) on 21st and it is looking increasingly unlikely that I’ll be able to join them in the hydro pools!

thanks for replying x

Hey ,  I know what you mean, I can’t remember what it’s like to have a leisurely soak in the bath or to have a shower without a plastic sleeve on my leg!

ive been having mild pain in my wound too. It’s like sharp stabbing pains and an intense dragging sensation if I sit with my leg down or stand for too long. The nurse insists it’s not infected though but the healing process just seems to have stalled - as if it’s got fed up - I know what it means!

I hope yours is nearly on the mend and thanks for replying x

That would be very annoying - you’ll have to get their share of the bubbles drank while they’re soaking!

x

Hi

thanks for responding. Sounds like you are doing just the right things so fingers crossed all will be great when your stitches come out!

Im eating healthily, resting with my leg up when I can (I have a cheeky stool under my desk and grab an extra chair for my leg when in meetings), and I’m getting plenty of sleep so hopefully I’m nearly there myself.

Best of luck and take care xx

Ha ha - now that sounds like a plan :)

Hey all you lovely people!

on the advice of my GP practice nurse yesterday I called the surgical secretary at the hospital who got me straight in to a dressing clinic yesterday afternoon.

The specialist nurse at the clinic took one look at the stubborn plug of slough in my open wound, grabbed some oversized tweezers and yanked it out, Bingo! Within hours it’s shrunk in size, I’m keeping it open to the air as much as possible - worked at home today in shirts and socks! Not a good look!

I think we are finally on the road to healing properly!

thanks to you all for your kind words of support.

xx