Er visit help?!

Ovie · Aug 14, 2012

So they thought I had a stitch coming through my incision and a minor infection, they gave me antibiotics yesterday and just started taking them today, when I woke up today I noticed a white dot where they figured the stitch was coming through and the small area was infected. As the day went on it grew into a light green bubble on my incision, figured I'd just leave it be. About 2 hours ago I was sitting and watching TV when I got what felt to be a tennis ball in my throat, then my chest started to pulsate minor pain and I had difficulty breathing. With the bubble getting bigger during the day I decided to take no chances and go to the ER.

After waiting forever while nurses chatted about dumb things and keep me waiting, I finally saw the ER doctor, who is a younger guy, I told him what happened and what IS happening, he listened then went straight to my incision, started to feel around then just without hesitation rip the soft area containing the bubble off my incision, kind of like if you ripped a blister open. I saw ZERO puss, just a ton of blood. He then had me apply pressure and then put a cotton swab and bandaid over it.

I'm sitting here in the ER waiting for a chest X-RAY, but the method in which he did everything, does that sound right? He didn't use any alcohol or sanitizer on my wound that he made. Being on Warifin and all the blood should I worry about clotting? Something just doesn't feel right, or is it really that easy to deal with?

Please, any opinions on the matter would be very comforting, I plan on following up with my doctor tomorrow anyways, but just going and ripping something off my incision doesn't sound like protocol.

Eva · Aug 15, 2012

Sorry, Ovie, to read the above. Remember you and your insurance will be paying a lot for this ER visit! You have all the right to ask questions about what is going on with your incision and demand clarifications to have peace of mind.

How is your breathing and the pulsating pain that you felt earlier?

I hope you had the X-ray done by now.

Good luck and keep us posted.

epstns · Aug 15, 2012

Ovie - I have no experience with things like what you're experiencing now. I hope they can sort it out soon.

Any updates?

Ovie · Aug 15, 2012

Pulsating and breathing is better, I just now have a hole in my incision that's bleeding constantly and I was just told to have a band aid over it. I'm waiting for my Doctor to call me back so hopefully she can give me a bit information once I explain what happened.

escargome · Aug 15, 2012

Ovie,
Hope you hear from your doctor soon. It seems to me that the way you were treated in the ER was very rude. As was stated above, you have a right to know and understand everything that is being done to you prior to it being done. If you remember the doctor's name in the ER I would write a letter to the hospital patient advocate as an FYI. Maybe they will have a little chat with that particular doctor on how to treat a patient.
In any case, I hope you get some solid answers to your problem and a stated and definitive course of action. Get better soon.

karla · Aug 15, 2012

Hope you got some information by now. The closest thing I have had is a quarter sized blood blister about 2 weeks ago. Someone accidently poked me - hard - with his finger right, smack dab in the middle of my incision. The blister broke and bled and oozed a good 24 hrs. before it scabbed over.
Hope you feel better soon.