Cleft lift 5/15/18 recovery log

[JonH21]

One month post op- Overall I’m doing well. Most of the wound looks good. I’m working with no problems, driving, etc. I even went to Miami on vacation just last week. Sitting is pretty normal. There are still some types of chairs or furniture that don’t feel great. I still use my coccyx cushion at work.

However today I did notice a little spotting on my underwear which I had not seen since my last surgery. I also thought it felt a little different down there for the last 2-3 days but I didn’t think much of it. It’s not a horrible pain but it just felt different. I had my wife do a close inspection today and take pictures of the area. The very bottom of the scar did open a little bit. I immediately sent pictures to my doctor and explained the situation.

My doctor did tell me after surgery this could be a possibility. If there was going to be any type of delay, this could be it. When I sent the pictures to him, he did say it’s not uncommon and that it has a good chance of healing on it’s own with no further treatment. He advised me to send an updated picture in about 2 weeks to check the progress. I will go from there.

I know this is fairly common. So I ask anyone reading this, if this happened to you, how long did it take to heal? Or did it even heal? Did you need another procedure?

Still happy with my progress. Everyone heals at their own pace. I have an excellent doctor and an excellent team around me. I’m going to stay positive and keep on keeping on. This is just going to be a minor speed bump.

 

[r4nd0o64]

Its been over a month for me and I really started to sit last week, I too noticed spotting near the bottom of the wound. It seems to have stopped bleeding, its hard to even tell if the wound is open down there or not.

Its probably going to heal, but you should be gentle with it. Just think of all the people who get that open wound surgery, your little tear is nothing compared to that.

 

[Ohmygod]

Happy to hear your side of story.

On my side after 3 weeks of my cleft lift, Now I got a 6cm long 2cm deep wound on my flap side. All my stiches cut open and I am not seeing any improvement. Day by Day it's becoming worse and worse. I consulted my suregean and he suggested me to go to wound care clinic again to dress my wound and he said it can take months to heal. He also gave me 2 months of work from home. I am sick of myself to be honest. It's my 4th operation and it has failed again.

He always says my skin anatomy is different and it is not curing. I don't have any infection but the wound is not healing.
I don't know what to do now.. visit my 6th different surgeon ? or just wait for 2 months and hope that my wound will heal slowly ?

Help is appreciated.

 

[r4nd0o64]

Happy to hear your side of story.

On my side after 3 weeks of my cleft lift, Now I got a 6cm long 2cm deep wound on my flap side. All my stiches cut open and I am not seeing any improvement. Day by Day it's becoming worse and worse. I consulted my suregean and he suggested me to go to wound care clinic again to dress my wound and he said it can take months to heal. He also gave me 2 months of work from home. I am sick of myself to be honest. It's my 4th operation and it has failed again.

He always says my skin anatomy is different and it is not curing. I don't have any infection but the wound is not healing.
I don't know what to do now.. visit my 6th different surgeon ? or just wait for 2 months and hope that my wound will heal slowly ?

Help is appreciated.

Sorry that you are going through this and you're not healing as expected. So being your 4th surgery and it being the "renowned" cleft lift procedure at this point I'd probably avoid more surgery for right now and focus on healing. It is possible whoever performed your surgery did a bad job and pursuing another surgeon may have some benefit. But it really seems like a lot of mental drain going through it all other again.

Going to a wound clinic is probably best bet, but that doesn't mean you can't care for the wound yourself. Unfortunately with any surgical procedure in this area, complications can occur, like having an open wound (everyday I get scared of this during my current post op).

All you can do is keep positive, protect the area, and realize it will eventually heal. I know thats probably not what you want to hear, but keeping positive with pilonidal disease is one of the biggest factors.

 

[Ohmygod]

Thank you so much for advising me with such a positive attitude. Sometimes I loose hope on myself but yes I need to move on with it. I am also thinking the same. Going to another surgeon and having another surgery is always complicated and I don't want to loose hope right after 3 weeks of surgery.

Decided to wait for 2 months atleast and if wound is not healing for entire 3 months of period..then that's really a bad sign I hope.

Hope this time my wound will get healed within 2 months.

 

[Joanie]

My 21 year old son has a fairly large round open hole towards the top of the incision as well as a tunnel about 6 1/2" at the 7:00 position and an appx 2" tunnel at the 12:00 position. This is due to the stiches not holding together. Our surgeon told us to pack the hole with saline filled gauze, which we did, but it proceeded to get worse and then infection set in. We are 5 weeks post cleft lift and have now met with a wound care specialist, who is ordering the wound vac for healthier healing. I feel much better that we are in the right hands with this specialist. I would recommend seeing a wound care specialist if it's not healing. Dont waste any more time. The would needs to heal before any more surgery.

 

[Ohmygod]

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes I am now in hands of wound care specialist. She is also my previous surgeon who did deep incision surgery. I think it's time to have faith on myself and wait for wound healing.

 

[Luke Wade]

Mine split 2 places few weeks after surgery. One split at bottom of suture and one just off the suture. Took around 6 weeks to heal. Apparently its your body draining still. 7 months healed. Sorry might have already posted this. But yea try not to worry very normal

 

[JonH21]

It’s been about 5 1/2 weeks post surgery. I had a small split towards the bottom between 3-4 weeks. It has since almost healed. I have been putting vitamin c lotion on it and using hibiclense to clean it in the shower. I feel like I am almost completely healed. I sent a pic to my doctor and he also said it looks a lot better than it did a few weeks ago. I can notice is closing and also there is no leakage. I’ve come to find out this is very common to happen, especially at the bottom towards the anus. I feel like very soon I will get the all clear.

This is a picture of my wound as of today. Roughly 5 1/2 weeks post cleft lift. You’ll notice the wound is healing nicely. The red scab is where my drain was. The other spots are freckles. I’m a freckley person lol. Over the next few weeks/months hopefully the scar will fade in color.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11kKIQTfDXQWqbG8tFuYshBAa2AtXAdDP

 

[Luke Wade]

Nice one Jon, looks like you're coming to the end of your PD journey.

Good riddance aye!

 

[JonH21]

8 weeks all healed!

Going to stick around here to help!

 

[Luke Wade]

congrats Jon

 

[JonH21]

congrats Jon

Thanks Luke! How’s everything going for you?

 

[Luke Wade]

All good thanks bud. 8 months healed. I hadn't checked my scar for about 2 months actually (forgot about it). and in that time flew across the Atlantic twice, worked out a lot, drove a lot, work at desk. Recently checked just to check it and looking like I'd never had surgery. Pretty mind blowing and liberating to not have this hinder your life anymore. I used to check this thing twice a day before surgery and get so annoyed/defeated. Feels like I've got my life back

 

[JonH21]

All good thanks bud. 8 months healed. I hadn't checked my scar for about 2 months actually (forgot about it). and in that time flew across the Atlantic twice, worked out a lot, drove a lot, work at desk. Recently checked just to check it and looking like I'd never had surgery. Pretty mind blowing and liberating to not have this hinder your life anymore. I used to check this thing twice a day before surgery and get so annoyed/defeated. Feels like I've got my life back

Good to hear! Isn’t it great? I’ve also flown across country twice in the last month.
I’ve started doing normal every day activities like mowing the grass, playing with the dog, etc. it’s amazing to check your underwear and there’s not a speck there. It’s easy to feel defeated with this disease. Let’s just hope this never comes back again!

 

[need2heal]

Day 2- Really not a lot to report. I’m in some pain, but it’s manageable. With my 2 drains, I’m producing between 25-30 ml a day. It has to be under 20 before I can take the drains out. It’s expected to be in for about 1 week, give or take. I did take a shower today but didn’t look at the wound yet. I’m not ready to yet. Call me a wimp I guess. My wife did say it looks a lot better than how it looked before, so that’s good. I have only taken pain meds twice and it’s been about 30 hours post op. I’ve been trying to eat a lot of protein and fruits plus taking my vitamins.

Really I haven’t done much except rest. I have walked around a little bit. I’ve been able to sit for short periods. Not really pain, but it’s just a little bit of a weird feeling. I bought some stool softener for when I do have to go. I haven’t felt the need to go yet.

Basically just mirroring what I said yesterday- I’m very happy I decided to do this procedure with Dr. Immerman. The pain is manageable, the only thing that is kind of a pain are these drains. It’s hard to find comfortable positioning. However I know that these are necessary for my healing. Not much blood on the bandages when I took them off. No leakage from the wound etc.

Will keep the updates coming. But I feel I’m doing pretty well so far. It will only get better!

I know the doc's directions say to take the stool softener starting a few days before surgery, so I was wondering why you said you were gonna wait until you had the urge to go b4 you took them? Just trying to get prepared for helping my son through this....I would think my son will be so nervous he will be going poop a lot in the days and hours before the surgery, just naturally, so I am wondering what he should do...

 

[Mcm222]

I know the doc's directions say to take the stool softener starting a few days before surgery, so I was wondering why you said you were gonna wait until you had the urge to go b4 you took them? Just trying to get prepared for helping my son through this....I would think my son will be so nervous he will be going poop a lot in the days and hours before the surgery, just naturally, so I am wondering what he should do...

Everyone is different but I'd recommend starting a few days before so it's already working by the time he has his first bowel movement. They aren't laxatives, they should just soften and make it easier to go. Frequency pre-surgery shouldn't necessarily increase as a result of using them.

 

[JonH21]

I know the doc's directions say to take the stool softener starting a few days before surgery, so I was wondering why you said you were gonna wait until you had the urge to go b4 you took them? Just trying to get prepared for helping my son through this....I would think my son will be so nervous he will be going poop a lot in the days and hours before the surgery, just naturally, so I am wondering what he should do...

I guess I didn’t word it right. I did take the stool softener before surgery. I was just saying, for when I do have to go, I have stool softener to make it a little easier. I’d also advise taking it a few days in advance for preparation. But definitely confirm with your doctor.

 

[JonH21]

Just checking in 3.5 months post surgery. It is like I never had the disease. I feel amazing and am so grateful to have had this surgery. I have accepted a new position at my job that includes a lot of travel which I was scared to consider before due to my pilonidal. I am now comfortable making life decisions without this disease hindering me. I don’t even think twice about it.

This will probably be my last post for a while unless anyone has any questions. I’m always willing to help out if I can.

To anyone reading this. There is hope! Don’t give up fighting!

 

[Ohmygod]

Hi Guys,

Just posting an update ( a good one ). https://www.pilonidal.org/xfforums/...ft-lift-5-15-18-recovery-log.14319/post-77546 -- This was my last update.

After 3 months of cleft lift surgery, I had a deep thin tunnel near top of my wound. I had one more operation just to heal that specific part. Today, after 6 months of cleft life surgery, I am able to do my normal activities ( sit, drive for a long time ) and I feel very happy for it.

I still have baby skin all over and should be very careful with it, for atleast 1 year more.. but thanks for cleft lift and my doctor. I finally discharged from hospital. It took 4 surgeries, 2 years of my life to get rid of this disease.


To all the pilodinal cyst survivors: DO NOT LOOSE HOPE DO NOT LOOSE HOPE