arugh got my staples wet!

vampcow

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ARUGH!!

I am only 4 days post-op from major hip surgery and my doctor told me i could shower but DON"T GET THE STAPLES WET...and guess what happens?? I GOT THE
STAPLES wet!!! OHH I am soo mad at myself....the plastic covering didn't hold.....

so...I patted then dry GENTLY and I'm hoping no ill will come of this....In all my surgiries this is the first time i have had staples...and they scare me...much scarier then stitches or tape... and to make matters worse...as I was patting them dry...moo wormed his way into the bathroom looked at me and MEOWED loudly put his tail up and marched out...it was like he was YELLING at me!!


on another note....I think he is sick...his nose is running and he is coughing...I think he needs to go to the vet...but I CANT GET HIM THERE!! YOu think he will be ok? I guess I could ask mom or my fiance to help him out...
 

catmom2wires

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The staples will likely be just fine. Drying them as you did was exactly the right thing to do. With each successive day, the risk of infection becomes lower and 4 days out shouldn't be very high risk at all.

Here's to a quick recovery from the surgery!!!! And here's hoping your kitty will feel better soon too!

Cally
 

natalie_ca

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I don't know what type of surgery you had, but at work we allow people who are 1 day post op to go and have a shower. In fact we take their bandage off the day after their surgery and leave it open to air unless there is drainage. The only exception to that is orthopedic surgery. Those need to stay 100% dry and the incision can't even be cleaned with sterile saline solution because of the risk of infecting the bone. But I work on a ward where women have hysterectomies and C-Sections and they can go shower the very next day.
 
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vampcow

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I don't know what type of surgery you had, but at work we allow people who are 1 day post op to go and have a shower. In fact we take their bandage off the day after their surgery and leave it open to air unless there is drainage. The only exception to that is orthopedic surgery. Those need to stay 100% dry and the incision can't even be cleaned with sterile saline solution because of the risk of infecting the bone. But I work on a ward where women have hysterectomies and C-Sections and they can go shower the very next day.
heh I had ORTHOPEDIC surgery! In fact that is all the surgery I have ever had. In fact what I had done was have my hardware removed from my femur and hip.
I guess that falls into the catergory of not getting them wet....

I suppose what I should do is wait to see what happens and call my surgeon sooner rather then later...even thoug hI do have an appointment friday with my generalist to pull the staples out.
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by vampcow

heh I had ORTHOPEDIC surgery! In fact that is all the surgery I have ever had. In fact what I had done was have my hardware removed from my femur and hip.
Yeah, I would go ahead and call the doctor. They may want to give you antibiotics just in case. The incision was skin down to bone, so you don't want to get bacteria wicked down into the bone from the skin.
 
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vampcow

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Thanks for the advice!! I will call and see what he says...
 
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