My MRI was scheduled for three days after I had the appointment at the wound care center. I was very happy that it was able to be done so quickly. The MRI was a relatively long test but painless. At this point, these tests have become old hat to me so I was not at all nervous about having it done. When the MRI was completed I was told that the doctor that ordered it would have the results in just a couple of days. I also requested that the results be sent to my surgeon so he would be aware of what was happening when he returned. Within a couple days of having the MRI, the doctor that I saw at the wound care center called me with the test results. The doctor told me that the MRI results did not show evidence of osteomyelitis (infection in the bone). I was incredibly happy to hear that because if bone infection were present then it would take even longer for the wound to close not to mention could be painful. After hearing these results, we discussed scheduling an appointment for the following day with my surgeon.
The next day I went into my appointment relieved that my surgeon whom I was incredibly comfortable with had returned. It wasn't that I was uncomfortable with the doctor that was filling in it is just that my surgeon had treated me for so long and had gotten good results so there was a certain comfort level there. At my appointment, my surgeon explained to me that when he saw the MRI results his opinion was different; than that of the other doctor. He felt that their was potentially something still going on and that maybe something inside had caused the wound to reopen, as such he felt that the best option was for him to bring me back into the operating room and look around. I agreed that what he was saying sounded logical and so it was decided that I would either see him the day of the surgery or at the wound care center in a few weeks, whichever came first. The surgery ended up being scheduled for a few weeks later.
The day of the surgery I was not at all nervous or upset about what had happened. I did have my "moment" of "WHY?!" for a little while after the initial appointment with my surgeon but, by the day of the surgery I was no longer upset. I had decided long ago, to try not too get upset about this wound anymore. I made the choice to just take everything as it happened and deal with it the best way we knew how. My surgeon came in and explained again, what he was going to do in the operating room. All of it sounded incredibly familiar. My surgeon said that he was going to go in the wound and clean out any bone that needed to be gotten rid of and then he was going to pack the wound with antibiotic seeds. He then packed the wound with Calcium Alginate and covered it with a dry dressing. The procedure ended up taking less than an hour and afterwords I was able to have some lunch and was sent home with instructions to stay off of it as much as I could for next couple of days.
My visiting nurse came to my house two days after the surgery so that she could change the dressing and monitor me for any sign of infection. She said that everything looked good and that she was not concerned. I continued to have visiting nurses for the next few days and met with my surgeon eight days after the surgery. My surgeon said that he was happy with how it seemed to be progressing and, to keep doing what we were doing as far as using the Calcium Alginate and a dry dressing on top. I have had several visiting nurse visits and have seen my surgeon one additional time since the surgery. I am currently, approximately three weeks post-op and I am being told that my wound is continuing to get smaller in size. I am hopeful that my wound will close again relatively soon so that I can once again fully participate in my life.
