Posted by DarrenG
on September 17, 2009
Ilizarov frame patients will be familiar with the daily ritual of pin site cleaning.
Every morning after removing old dressings and showering I have to clean all 15 pin sites using saline fluid and special polygon ‘lollipop’ cleaning sticks and any pin sites that are weeping or bleed have to be covered with a non-adhesive padded dressing.
Whilst I was in hospital this was no problem, I was provided each day with a kit of the fluid, lollipop sticks and dressings as required. And when I was discharged I was issued with a small stock of them to keep me going.
Back at home I researched the dressings and cleaning sticks I needed and it threw up some nasty surprises! The 5cm x 5cm Allevyn Non-Adhesive dressings cost £18 per box of 10. Even though I only have 5 pin sites that require dressing that is nearly £9/day for dressings alone or £270 per month!
The polygon lollipop sticks however, are only available in bulk packs of 300 and these cost £60+. I can’t be sure of the exact price as I can’t find anyone who sells to the general public.
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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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