Posted by DarrenG
on December 29, 2009
It has been some 4 months since I went under the knife (and chisel, spanner and mallet) and had the ilizarov frame bolted into and onto my leg.
By and large it has been a lot easier than I had feared. I’d had almost a year to prepare mentally and practically for the op so when the day finally came there was little shock at the appearance of the frame fitted to my leg and whilst it has been painful and uncomfortable and life limiting to large degrees, for the most part it has been easier than I had feared it might be.
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Posted by DarrenG
on December 10, 2009
Only recently I was thinking how lucky I had been to only suffer one pin infection very early on in the process.
Then last Saturday one of my pin wires sprung an infection which got worse very quickly. By Sunday I had another pin wire and one of the thicker pins also infected.
My earlier infection I now know was but a teaser and the discomfort I had back then was nothing compared with the agonising and completely debilitating pain that this one has demonstrated.
So Monday morning I saw my GP who quickly prescribed Phenoxymethylpenicillin and Flucloaxacillin, two types of high dose antibiotic and as my normal pain killer supply wasn’t touching this new source of pain, Co-Codamol in the high strength 30mg dose.
The main infection is in the pin closest to the top of my thigh. It is in the worst possible place because the skin and flesh moves a lot in this area. And movement = lots of pain.
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Posted by DarrenG
on September 13, 2009
For the last few days I’ve been feeling very positive and happy so the contrast with my glum disposition today is all the more obvious.
The infection appears to be improving at least. During the daily pin cleansing and dressing this morning it certainly looks like the infection around the pin is receding which if true is great news but despite this I can’t shake the mildly depressed feeling I have woke with. I’ve been snapping at my wife and daughter. Given all they have done and are doing for me these are the last people I should be arguing with!
Part of it is possibly my first appointment with the Physio tomorrow. Although it is just an assessment I’m worried that they will mark my inability to raise my ‘bad’ leg onto a stool or into bed as poor progress. It’s difficult to know what I ought to be able to achieve by now but this is the one thing that means I am still heavily reliant on others for. If I want to get off the settee I need help to move my leg as I do when I sit down and the same applies for getting into/out of bed.
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Posted by DarrenG
on September 11, 2009
Medical professionals will tell you that infections are not ‘if’ but when with ilizarov and TSF frames. The bone/skin interface of the protruding pins is a haven for bugs and they can take hold very quickly as a result.
So with little pomp I presented myself at my GP’s Surgery last week. A pin site had become increasingly sore and inflamed over a few days and the skin surrounding it had begin to break down.
Sure enough my GP agreed that it is almost certainly infected. A swab was taken for testing but hard lumps under the skin are an indication that a possible abscess had already formed. The pin wire goes right through my leg from front to back and both ends are infected, one minor, one bad. And so I am now on a course of very strong antibiotics.
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