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Hi i had surgery on a heel fracture 2 stainless pins inserted i had 2 cast changes they were on a little over 1 month each. finally cast was off my parents and friends questioned the color of my foot they said it didn't look right but i said doc gave it the ok.the next check up the doctor said now infected. gave me prescription 2 antibioitics 1 cream. my next appointment was 1 week later skin graph doc. at app. doc looked at wound said admit yourself in hosp now. on i.v.s 5 days now on wound vac. can infections become that critical in 1 week. when the cast was 1st off. my heel was extremely painful to touch and yellowish . now i can touch my heel after iv.s it seems to me the infection was overlooked ?
Gender: Male
How tall are you (feet and inches)?: 5 10
What is your weight in pounds?: 148
How old are you?: 52
How long has this been going on?: More than a month
Describe associated symptoms not listed above: had tingling feeling in heel while cast were on i was told bone growing
What have you done so far to remedy this condition? Please include tests and relevant studies here. Wound vac.
Please list any chronic medical problems and also list any prior surgery (lacerations don't count!): need maybe 2 more operations
Please list any medication allergies that you have : : none
Please list any medications you are currently taking (and dosage if known) :: 2 antibiotics per day doxycycline hyclate 100mg
When was your last menstrual cycle?: Now
Are you currently using or do you have a history of tobacco use?: Yes
Are you currently using or do you have a history of illegal drug use?: No
Please describe your alcohol consumption :: Rarely
What can i do if the infection was overlooked some reason i seem to be backpedaling on getting better.
________________________________________
I wish I could give you a definite answer but I can't because your question calls for speculation... guessing on my part. The fact is that you broke your calcaneus. This is from a high energy injury, in other words, an injury with lots of force transmitted to your foot. The repair of this kind of injury is very difficult to start with. The fact is that the surgery you had to repair your broken heel carried with it a known risk of infection to start with. And if your original injury was bad enough to break the skin (an 'open' fracture) then the chance of infection would be even higher.
But let's assume that there was no infection introduced during your injury or the repair. It is possible that a small break in the skin near the surgical site introduced bacteria deep into the wound.
The fact that you have metal screws in your foot makes the infection MUCH worse, because now the screws probably have to come out.
To answer your question about the infection being 'overlooked', it is not that simple. There is no test that tells if there is infection or not. As you learned, a wound infection is diagnosed by physical exam. Lab testing can help, and bone scans and the like are often used to tell if the bone itself is infected, but there is no way to say if it was overlooked.
If you wish to consult a medical malpractice attorney they can probably answer this better than I can.
Unfortunately, not even your doctors know right now how long this will take to clear and how many operations you might need (though I see you think there are two surgeries upcoming). You had a bad injury that shattered your calcaneus bone. Even without the infection your chance of getting back to near-normal was very low and you would likely have had some pain and lack of ability to fully use your foot for the rest of your life.
With the infection the end results are unknown at this point.
I'm not sure if I have answered your question, so if I have not, please respond in the comment section. Good luck.
Hi i had surgery on a heel fracture 2 stainless pins inserted i had 2 cast changes they were on a little over 1 month each. finally cast was off my parents and friends questioned the color of my foot they said it didn't look right but i said doc gave it the ok.the next check up the doctor said now infected. gave me prescription 2 antibioitics 1 cream. my next appointment was 1 week later skin graph doc. at app. doc looked at wound said admit yourself in hosp now. on i.v.s 5 days now on wound vac. can infections become that critical in 1 week. when the cast was 1st off. my heel was extremely painful to touch and yellowish . now i can touch my heel after iv.s it seems to me the infection was overlooked ?
Gender: Male
How tall are you (feet and inches)?: 5 10
What is your weight in pounds?: 148
How old are you?: 52
How long has this been going on?: More than a month
Describe associated symptoms not listed above: had tingling feeling in heel while cast were on i was told bone growing
What have you done so far to remedy this condition? Please include tests and relevant studies here. Wound vac.
Please list any chronic medical problems and also list any prior surgery (lacerations don't count!): need maybe 2 more operations
Please list any medication allergies that you have : : none
Please list any medications you are currently taking (and dosage if known) :: 2 antibiotics per day doxycycline hyclate 100mg
When was your last menstrual cycle?: Now
Are you currently using or do you have a history of tobacco use?: Yes
Are you currently using or do you have a history of illegal drug use?: No
Please describe your alcohol consumption :: Rarely
What can i do if the infection was overlooked some reason i seem to be backpedaling on getting better.
________________________________________
I wish I could give you a definite answer but I can't because your question calls for speculation... guessing on my part. The fact is that you broke your calcaneus. This is from a high energy injury, in other words, an injury with lots of force transmitted to your foot. The repair of this kind of injury is very difficult to start with. The fact is that the surgery you had to repair your broken heel carried with it a known risk of infection to start with. And if your original injury was bad enough to break the skin (an 'open' fracture) then the chance of infection would be even higher.
But let's assume that there was no infection introduced during your injury or the repair. It is possible that a small break in the skin near the surgical site introduced bacteria deep into the wound.
The fact that you have metal screws in your foot makes the infection MUCH worse, because now the screws probably have to come out.
To answer your question about the infection being 'overlooked', it is not that simple. There is no test that tells if there is infection or not. As you learned, a wound infection is diagnosed by physical exam. Lab testing can help, and bone scans and the like are often used to tell if the bone itself is infected, but there is no way to say if it was overlooked.
If you wish to consult a medical malpractice attorney they can probably answer this better than I can.
Unfortunately, not even your doctors know right now how long this will take to clear and how many operations you might need (though I see you think there are two surgeries upcoming). You had a bad injury that shattered your calcaneus bone. Even without the infection your chance of getting back to near-normal was very low and you would likely have had some pain and lack of ability to fully use your foot for the rest of your life.
With the infection the end results are unknown at this point.
I'm not sure if I have answered your question, so if I have not, please respond in the comment section. Good luck.
1 comment:
If the fracture of the heel required a skin graft it was most likely an open fracture (breaking through the skin)
These fractures can be very susceptible to infections.
You didn't mention if the VAC was used at the time of the initial surgery which usually helps prevent infections, however, if the sealing of the VAC loosens it is possible for infections to occur.
Infections of the heel are often difficult to diagnose with all the swelling and discoloration from the fracture. If there is visible drainage cultures can be taken to look for infection.
Any infection in a fracture could be considered 'critical' due to the danger of the infection getting into the bone and causing osteomyelitis, so it was good that you got the i.v.s.
Usually the surgeons are very watchful for any infections---seems doubtful that it was overlooked, but it can be difficult to diagnose.
Good luck! Space Doc
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