To all,

As a new member who just had the courage to de-lurk, let me say hi to all of the regular posters. Let me also thank you all for contributing to this site, as it has become a great resource for those who are trying to find out more about castration and related issues.

On to the question....

I had my surgery with Dr. Spector at the beginning of November. Since then, my healing as been generally good, but with a few complications.

I removed my stitches after two weeks, no problems there. Another week after that I decided to do my first decent washing of the area in the shower. At that time, I noticed what appeared to be a pair of small white strings protruding from the wound.

I eventually determined that they were part of my internal stitches. I had an infection form, which I've been fighting for a couple of weeks. I went to my local doctor so someone could look at it (ugh! that's a whole other story), and he didn't seem to know what to do other than to prescribe more antibiotics and tell me to leave it alone, saying that the stitches would still dissolve by themselves.

Well, 11 days later, and roughly six weeks post-op, the strings are still there, and I think that they are keeping my otherwise well-healed wound open in that one small spot. I fear recurring infections until the strings are gone.

Anyone have similar experiences or advice? My local doc suggested soaking in a tub, but I'm hesitant to do that because of the open wound. Help!

Rand,

Stay out of that tub. Let your wound drain and keep a clean telfa gauze over it with neosporin or bacitracin ointment if possible. You may go through several cycles of healing and then breaking open and draining.

Make sure that your tetanis vaccination is current. Spadone is right, leave it alone and eventually it will heal on its own.

If you should start running a fever or if pain or redness appears get to a surgeon and let him deal with the problem. Infection will cause you a great deal of discomfort.

Post again and keep us informed how you do.

A-1

Rand (imported) wrote: Sun Dec 16, 2001 10:29 am Anyone have similar experiences or advice? My local doc suggested soaking in a tub, but I'm hesitant to do that because of the open wound. Help!

Instead of your local Doc, it might be a good idea to see a trained Urologist. And see if a hospital in your area has a burn/wounds center that might help.

Thanks everyone. You've pretty much confirmed what my intuition was telling me.

Tried to go straight to the urologist, but couldn't get insurance to pay for it without a visit to the PCP first; you know how that goes.

I'll post a follow up once the entire healing is done.

Rand

While I certainly understand that there was additional risk, one of the reasons I went to a cutter was that the guy that did my procedure promised minimal trauma to the sac. Most doctors seem to make at least 5 cm incisions down the midline of the sac. Mine expressed the balls through 2 cm incisions in each sphere of the sac. The cords were then tied off and severed just below the ties. The small incisions meant that the sides of the wound could be sutured with dissolvable sutures. I didn't need the 2 levels of sutures required with larger incisions. A small opening was left near the bottom of the wound for draining. The cutter basically stopped 1 suture short of entirely closing the wound. This also promoted healing from inside out. I only suffered the bruising and swelling that always ensues when the cords are tied off. I returned to work 2 days following the procedure and was entirely healed in 3 weeks. I also showered. I just washed the wound with rubbing alcohol afterward - a bit painful, but a small price for losing one's balls.

I had appendicitis years ago and two other surgeries each a week later for adhesions and blockages. They left an incisional hernia and I got to "dress" the wound for three months. All sorts of sutures and stitches were in there. They left the muscle wall open to enable me to start eating and prevent blockages. I had metal sutures that left little pits. (I never had a problem with blood and gore after that hospital stay)

Keep it clean. Don't sit in the water. Keep the topical antibiotics on it and all the rest of the advice that people gave you.

I would ask the PCP to cut or trim these sutures if they get annoying. If he gets goofy or squeamish about it, get another PCP. He's a doctor and should do those things.

A few years later the surgeons repaired the hernia and left 44 staples up my stomach. A month went by and several large sutures floated up and out of me. They were the non-dissolving kind and reminded me of fishing line. The surgeon said to be careful of infection when they came out.

So keep it clean and be patient. None of what you describe is unusual or alarming.