Bad infection after ceaser will it happen again?

[kath87]

Hi every one, I just want to let you know befor you start reading this that if your about to have a ceaser you may not want to keep reading as this is fairly gross and may freak you out and i really dont want that to happen....
When i had my DD i had to have an emergency ceaser after 22 house of labour, in the days that followed i was ok every thing was going fine i had the stapels taken out i think about a week after i had my daughter, the night after my staplels had been taken out i was feeling really unwell and was in bed when all of a suden i felt this big gush of fluid come out of the cut i wont go on but i ended up back in hospitial with a really bad infection, because the wound had started to hell it had to be reopened and then had to hell from the inside out which meant i had a nurse come to my house very day for 5 months to dress my wound. Im fine now and my wound eventualy healed up but now im TTC number 2 and i have 2 friends that are also UTD and we keep talking about weather to try for a VBAC, i really dont want to go through another ceaser becasue im really scard that this will happen again but my chances of a natural labour are very slim because i have a small pelvis. Im thinking that if i did have to have a ceaser would i be able to ask for a strong lot of antibiodics or would it just be a waiting game to see if it happened again?? Has any one alse had a bad infection and then had another baby and it was fine??? Any ideas much appriciated...

[LilMissnBoo]

If you end up having a c/section next time you can always ask to not have staples. I just had normal disolvable stiches and healed without a problem.

Also, can I ask how old your DD is? Ob's usually like at least an 18 month gap between babies before attempting a VBAC (that's what i've been told by my ob)

Also just wanted to add that pelvis size usually does not affect a natural vaginal birth.

[kath87]

thanks for getting back to me myellabella, my dd is 17 months so we will be past that by the time i fall pregnant. So did you just request stitches, get some one to make a note of it some where.... really my ob told me that it ment i had a 40% chance of going natural its funny how they always discourage you the way i see it 40 is better then nothing

[LilMissnBoo]

See I always thought stiches were the norm, I haven't heard of people have the staples.:no:
Maybe have a chat with your ob when you are pregnant again.
All the best :)

[kas3]

I also got an infection after my c/s. I had staples too.

I had my DS on the Tuesday, was discharged on the Saturday, then my wound started leaking quite badly on the next Friday and I was re-admitted for three nights. I then had to get my wound re-dressed each day, eventually every second day, for a month.

Sounds like your infection was much worse than mine - I can completely understand why you wouldn't want to go through that again!

[kath87]

kas3 thanks so much for the reply so sorry that you had to go through the same thing as i did, i think alot of my problem was miss management on behalf of the hospitial im hoping that knolage is power and that if it does happen again at least i will have more understanding and beable to tell them what needs to be done.lol
Myellabella thanks for your input at least now i know stitches are an option. Thanks girls xoxo

[soon2b4]

I had staples 11 yrs ago with my DS. When removing the staples my incision started to come open again (very scary) but what made it worse was they stuck steri strips on it to close it and sent me home (Sydney Hos) but with very careful cleanliness and care everything turned out ok.
Second c/s I had dissolvable stitches which did become infected nothing to serious a full dose of antibiotics and all was good. I was also told to find a private place to lay down and get some sunshine on my incision to help the healing process.

[belonna]

I've never heard of anyone who has had staples as opposed to stitches before. My stitches all dissolved it was perfect and healed super fast.

[lou333]

Hi Kath 87 - You poor thing, that sounds like a really horrible infection :( Infections are caused by bacteria getting into the wound. During the operation, doctors try to make everything as sterile as possible to reduce chance of infection, however sometimes bacteria from the hospital, elsewhere in the environment and even your own skin can get into the wound either during or after the operation. So it's not so much about whether you have staples or stitches. Doctors/nurses try to do everything they can to prevent infection. The best you can do after your c-section is to be on the lookout for early signs of infection like redness, pain and swelling and get antibiotics early - see your gp if you have any of these asap. Early treatment prevents the infection worsening to the point that the wound opens up. Just because you had an infection last time does not mean you will have one again. :)

[sweetseven]

Firstly my disclaimers:
* I do not like the idea of c/s except where absolutely necessary. (I do however believe that the person involved should have the right to determine what is necessary for themselves, and that may be merely for piece of mind.)
* I do not have any medical training.

Now my thoughts.

My concern would be, with the long amount of time that the c/s scar took to heal (due to the infection), would that increase the risk of the wound reopening when under pressure?

Also, in the abscense of something external added to your system (such as insulin to control Type I diabetes, for example), your body should not create a child too big for you to birth.

[Sparrowgal]

I had absorbable sutures and I got a wound infection. I don't think I did anything dirty and didn't have any predisposing risks. So it's not the staples that cause it I think.

[Nat1341]

I have never heard of staples in a c section either, I had dissovable stitches internally and the outisde was just a suture. It all healed within 5 days. Sweetseven, Im not sure about the theory on your body should not create a baby to big for you to birth ( I have no medical training either) but my sister in law has 3 children, all were born bigger than 10lbs and the first was the largest he was 11lbs 10ounces and 58cm long! Yes, rather huge. He was enormous and went straight into 000 size clothes and after 3 weeks was in 00's. She didnt have diabetes etc or anything else, but my brother is 6ft 5inches tall. She is only average height but her own brothers and father were all taller than 6ft. I think genetics from both parents plays a part in your baby's size. Just my theory! Thanks, Nat :)

[kas3]

I think genetics from both parents plays a part in your baby's size.

:iagree:

[nugget]

Hi Kath
You poor love, that sounds awful - yet similar to my first c-section.

I had an emergency c-sect after going through 9 hours of labour, getting fully dialated, & pushing like there was no tomorrow, the little guy was stuck and it got too dangerous, so c-section it was. I was terrified of an epidural so demanded a general anaestetic. He was 4 wks prem but just perfect. I on the other hand, not so lucky.:no:

I too had staples. I got a baldder infection and a staff infection - within 3-4 days of the birth. Then I was finally well enough to go home on oral antibiotics when bub was 7 days old.

The next night as I went to change the dressing from the wound, hubby & I noticed far too much blood and weeping, so back to the hospital we went, where the surgeon looked at it and contemplated more surgery!!!
Thankfully all I ended up with was an extra 2 nights in hospital treating the wound infection and making sure the "leaking" was minimal.

After all this, I didn't feel "myself" again for 2-3 months I reckon.

Then with bubs #2 I decided to have elective c-section. I braved an epidural and was awake for the birth. The whole day was just bliss:D. So relaxing, calm and stress free.
The surgeons can take their time when it is planned, so apparently there is less risk of infection (doesn't mean its risk free).
Plus your body hasnt experienced the stress & trauma of labour beforehand!

My recovery was a million times better. I felt myself with in hours, and could not have recovered better or quicker.
I had one long stitch this time instead of staples -not sure why or if it made any difference.


I am not sure if this is of any help, just thought I'd share my 2 very different c-section experiences.
GOOD LUCK:fingerscrossed:

[Opinionated]

You can vbac. You can do it. Small pelvis's are notoriously hard to diagnose. Unless you are really unlucky or have suffered some kind of damage to your pelvis chances are you can birth your baby. Just imagine if you did, you could walk out of delivery suite!

Good luck, I wish you all the best. The thought of a v/b is scary for a first timer, but as someone who has had a v/b as well as abdominal surgery, I would pick v/b every time if possible.

[talia11]

I had an emergency c-section due to a contracted pelvis and had staples in my wound but it healed perfectly - it sounds as if the infection was more about a bacteria rather than the type of sutures?

Anyway I hope all goes well this time - can't help you with VBAC but I am sure a good Ob will be able to tell you :)

[ALHmum]

Hi i also had an horrendous wound infection post c section. It was hard and sore right from the start then one night i was laying in a pool of yucky stuff but better out than in. I had to wear maternity pads to soak up all the muck. I just kept squeezing/pushing out the muck a few times a day esp in the shower and thankfully it cleared up in 3 weeks. My wound didn't open up all the way, just a few cm where the dr poked it to get more stuff out.
It would have had no relevance on whether you had staples or sutures - i have medical background - it was simply bad luck :(.
I'm booked for another c section in May and i'm going to steal some betadine washes from work and wash the area for a few days in advance. Some drs swear this will help so i guess i'll give it a go and see what happens. :fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:

[supermummy25]

Hi there
really sorry to hear bout your bad experience with having a c-section:no:. i myself have had 2 so far!!! my first c-section went well, but i did receive a infection with my second. they just put me strong antibiotics for a couple of weeks.
I myself have never heard of having staples done, i always thought you got stitches that desolve. you should speak to your surgeon and request stitches, due to previous experience they should be understanding. Good luck and dont be scared to have a another c-section.:wave:

[Pixilocks]

Okay,

I highly doubt it would have been the staples that caused the infection. Staples are sterile and are a good alternative to sutures.

OP, do you have diabetes? (as this can lead to increased risk of infection)

Similar happened to my Mum who had a hysterectomy resulting in 3 subsequent surgeries. Wound was gushing etc etc had to have more surgery to have the wound excised and was left with an open wound to heal from the inside out which I had to pack with sterile gauze and dress each day for about a month.

I would talk to your OB about it, they may suggest prophylactic antibiotics or something to try and prevent the same happening.

Although, if you *Do* have diabetes type 1 or 2 thats a whole other barrel of fish altogether!

[puah]

Some surgeons prefer to use staple guns as it is much quicker than suturing up manually, it saves time for them and it shouldn't make any difference with healing or infection risks. Have you decided what your going to do ?

[lemongrass]

my ob used staples in my first c- sec...it was fine... i healed well. and the scar was really small and neat, most people comment it was a really good job (the stitches)..
i dunno the different with staples and no staples..