Infection 2 weeks after surgery!!!

[abokor1]

Hi everyone. I had lower jaw surgery 18 days ago. On day 15 doc noticed I had and infection. He did not seem upset or worried. He simply explained that it could be an infection caused from my body rejecting the plates and screws used to hold my jaw together or it could be caused by a loose screw. No xray was taken and he prescribed me clindamiacin 300mg 4 times a day for a week. I have read on other boards that doctors usually irrigate and open the site to drain. My doctor did none of these things. Does this mean the infection wasnt as bad? I'm really worried. I don't want the infection to spread to the bone. Has anyone else dealt with this situation?

[MagnoliaMama]

My doc noticed signs of infection at 3 weeks. I was on antibiotics for an unrelated staph infection at the time, so we just did some watchful waiting. At 7 weeks it became obvious that I would need the plate at the site removed since the infection persisted. I started on a course of oral Augmentin and at 8 weeks post-op, to the day, I had the plate, screws and some bone removed.

Your bone will typically heal in the presence of a minor, controlled infection, so it's probably wise to wait until the bony union is solid enough to remove the rigid fixation. That's the 8 week mark in most cases. Before removing anything, my doc did do a cone beam CT scan to get a 3D visual of the infection, the hardware, and to get a good idea of how much my bone had healed.

I'm sorry you're going through this! Feel free to ask me any questions you might have about my experience. If I can help I'll be glad to!

[abokor1]

Thanks for your quick response. Do you know if the infection delays healing time? How are you doing after the plates and screws have been removed?

[MagnoliaMama]

In my case the bone was healed sufficiently at 8 weeks, despite the infection being there for at least 5 weeks. They did have to remove a couple pieces of bone during the plate removal, I'm guessing because they weren't attached well or they were too infected to get clean enough to leave be.

I had the removal done under IV sedation in the office, it was over in under an hour. The pain was of the sore/achy variety and it was totally manageable with ibuprofen and an occasional percocet. I didn't need anything for pain after day 2, but continued taking ibuprofen for the swelling. I'm 8 days out from removal and I'm pretty much back to normal. That side is just a teensy bit more swollen than the other side.

All in all, I'd say it wasn't awful. I would encourage you to do everything you can to support bone health and healing right now, though. Consider supplementing your calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, iron and B-12. They'll help to support your bones, blood, and nerves while they're forming at the osteotomy site. Try to stay hydrated and keep your calories up! Since you're going to be on antibiotics for a while, adding in a good probiotic to your daily vitamins will probably do you a world of good too.

Most of all, just try to take really good, loving, patient care of yourself. Your body is working so hard!

[abokor1]

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement! This really made my day. I am so happy things went well for you in the end. I hope that things continue to go well for you.

[MagnoliaMama]

No worries, hon! We're all in this together! These surgeries, compared to most other surgical procedures, is still in its infancy in the US. It's up to us to support, guide, and share with one another since forums like this one are the best available source of information I've found in my years of research. As helpful as my doctors have been they haven't lived through this, it hasn't been their inescapable reality for weeks and months on end. You and I know will know recovery as well as our surgeons know surgery, so we're the experts in this area!

Collectively, the wisdom in this forum is absolutely astounding.