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a ? for you back surgeons...WTF is this?!?!

corey4

corey4

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Full Member
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Feb 11, 2012
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pittsburgh pa
i had a microdiscectomy on my L5-S1 on 4-3-13, basically 4 weeks ago. it was supposed to be instant relief from the research i have done and people i have talked to. in my case, i am in more pain and more useless as a man than before surgery. but, i guess there are cases, like me, that things are worse before they get better. i am technically getting better, but at a very slow pace.

so today, when i get home from work, the scab on my incision was itchy. i started to scratch a bit, the scab came off (no big deal to me, not the first one i have had), but i feel this stringy thing connected to it. then i proceed to find this...

WTF is it?!?!? and why?
 

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I am not a surgeon nor do I play one on tv but if I had to guess I would guess a cat gut internal suture that didn't dissolve.

Only qualifications are having volunteered at local hospital, having surgeries myself and my mother being a nurse for 37 years
 
Yeah, pretty sure it's a RFID antenna, and it isn't supposed to be sticking out. They are supposed to be aligned with the spine, that way when you walk through the security points at store entrances, you can be tracked.

Smile for the camera!

If you look real close, you may even see the microphone on the end of it. Called a "Sub-Dermal Intonation Device". Look it up!


:)

(get it checked, soon)
 
i get the internal sutures, not the first time i had them. but aren't they supposed to dissolve after 10ish days?
 
I'm fairly positive it is an antennae, but not implanted by the docs, implanted by aliens. How's your bunghole feel post op?
 
We don't use chromic suture anymore. That likely is a vicryl suture. The wound needs some local care and you need to be seen by your surgeon. In the mean time keep the wound covered with sterile gauze and change it frequently.
 
Remember 'Alien'? When the creature comes out of that guy's stomach?

Yeah....it's a lot like that..... :)


In all likelihood, it's probably a suture they put in and covered with the medical $4k-a-bottle equivelant of superglue to keep you from screwing with it for a couple weeks. Keep it clean and dry for the next couple of days, then go have the doc pull it like he's ripstarting a lawnmower.

Report back when it's complete.
 
sqidd said:
Then you probably won't like me saying you need to get your ass off the seat further, drop your elbow and lead with your head:)
Click to expand...

i know, i know.

i have an old school style. i have a habit of leading with my shoulder. maybe from all those years of ice hockey? but i haven't been on a bike since 2008. that is going to change if everything goes well with the back issue.
 
corey4 said:
i know, i know.

i have an old school style. i have a habit of leading with my shoulder. maybe from all those years of ice hockey? but i haven't been on a bike since 2008. that is going to change if everything goes well with the back issue.
Click to expand...

Had to give you a hard time:)

Good luck with the back.
 
RichardTractorGuy is right in the Vicryl over Chromic. Vicryl sutures can take up to a couple of months to dissolve and be absorbed. That looks like a stitch that has come loose and from the appearance of the incision site was probably caused by a small amount of infection. The infection could also be why you don't feel like you are pain free or healing as fast as you would like. You need to keep it covered with sterile pads changed several times a day and follow up with your surgeon or doc ASAP! If it is causing discomfort you could cut it off as that will be what they will do at the Docs office anyways.
 
Very strange, I'd like to know what the doc says. Yes it's suture, surely Vicryl un-dyed or something similar. They generally don't loose strength for about 30 days, then take quite a while to dissolve. The strange thing about that one is there are no bends and no evidence of a knot at the free end. Suggests it broke a the base of the knot and was a subcutaneous (or intradermal) suture pattern like a Cushing's that doesn't have any tight curves. And yes it looks like a low grade infection at the open area. In this picture there are 3 potentially unrelated problems: Open skin, infection, and broken suture line. I hope the rest of the surgery went better than what we can see.
 
Amazing what questions can be posted and the level of quality answers one will get on the hide.

Ive been meaning to see the dock about this "flaggy" thing I can feel on my anus when I wipe but why waste the gas. Cant get a pic now but will return to post hi res jpeg at first opportunity.
 
as we all new it was the stitching. it was just a WTF moment.

they said it isn't infected, keep it covered and clean like ya'll said and just snip it off. they said it is "granulating in" and it is fine.

they also said that it is rare, but it does happen and i might have more that makes it way out.
 
Yeah, looks like a subcutaneous Vicryl that popped loose. The "spitting" is pretty common reaction to that type of stitch, just keep clean and covered with sterile bandages as others have said. The redness often mistaken for infection is the body's natural healing process. It is the inflammatory process portion of the wound healing process.

Disclaimer; I am not a Surgeon, I just do everything but the surgery.lol
good luck and speedy recovery.

Eric
 
corey4 said:
as we all new it was the stitching. it was just a WTF moment.

they said it isn't infected, keep it covered and clean like ya'll said and just snip it off. they said it is "granulating in" and it is fine.

they also said that it is rare, but it does happen and i might have more that makes it way out.
Click to expand...

Be advised, the small hairlike thing sticking out on your front side is not stitching.

Do not cut that one off!
 
Fairly sure it is a tracking device, ala The Matrix. When you wake up, the new reality will be a shock. Sorry to give you the bad news.
 
Thats your new pull cord, if you take the advice of CJ you will prolly find your self saying things uncontrollably like ma ma or da da or the cow goes mooo but more than likely, MOTHER ...........
 
Are you sure it isn't an inflation tube for your penis???? Tampon???? Antenne for a remote controlled penis actuator??? Maybe they replaced your balls with a yamuna ball massager and that is the pull start.....a new level of tea bagging!!! Actually I had back surgery and mine did the same thing. It was hard to resist not putting my finger in it.
 
jhart2424 said:
Are you sure it isn't an inflation tube for your penis???? Tampon???? Antenne for a remote controlled penis actuator??? Maybe they replaced your balls with a yamuna ball massager and that is the pull start.....a new level of tea bagging!!! Actually I had back surgery and mine did the same thing. It was hard to resist not putting my finger in it.
Click to expand...

The last sentence in the above statement,mad me giggle. That is all.
lol
 
Yeah internal suture that did not dissolve. I myself have issues dissolving sutures. it tends to happen if they are left near the surface of the skin. You may be having a reaction to the suture like if it were a foreign body. So your pain may be surgery related with some more inflammatory processes on top of it all from this suture... They will tug on it and cut it. hopefully it solves some of your problems. But I am not a surgeon... just an ER doctor.
 
Good luck with your recovery man. I was cut on 4-24 and am still recovering too... Post a couple above yours...

You still on pain meds? PM me if u get time like to chat about your surgery. I had L4-L5 laminectomy and discectomy
 
Before I sold my secret implant tracking device company to the CIA and NSA, we developed a similar type of broadcasting antenae. However, the antennae we developed was clear, and was designed to disintegrate upon contact within 8 hours of contact with open air so that there would not be any evidence by the time you got to your doctors office. Our research showed that fewer than 0.135% of patients can get an appointment sooner than that.

Sure, we were playing the odds, but felt that research was on our side. Your antennae is a perfect example of why we went from the whitish model (takes about 10 days to disintegrate) to the newer clear model that I mentioned above.

We told them that this would happen if they cheaped out and used the older model.
 
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