Post laparoscopy, glued wounds. Whencan you have a bath?

[moosemama]

I had my gallbladder removed, laparascopically, a fortnight ago and was discharged with zero advice, nothing at all, other than a little bag of pain meds.

I have internal dissolvable stitches covered by a rather fetching purple glue, that is now flaking off considerably.

I have Googled a lot and my Mum has had a fair amount of surgery, so to be on the safe side, I followed advice to sponge bath only for the first five days, then shower, but not soak the wounds.

I am desperate to have a warm bath to help my poor neck and shoulder which are suffering from not being able to sleep in my normal positions.

I am now on day 17, surely I can have a bath now?

Have you had a check-up appointment to see how the wound is healing yet?

No. I wasn't told to book one with anyone.

They don't routinely see patients for a post op check after lap cholecystectomy, but I have an appointment on 26th July, probably because I have a problem with my autonomic nervous system which complicated the anaesthetic and recovery. I was told the op went perfectly, they were able to check and image the bile duct and were 100% sure there are no stones left.

My wounds all look nice and healthy, I've had no bleeding or leaking and only the dreaded bellybutton one hurts, but I am told that's normal after this op. The hlue has flaked off all around the wider edges and is only left over the actual wound lines, again except the bellybutton, which was smothered in the glue. One wound on my right side in,y has glue left on half the incision.

Ok so, given that my glue is purple. I think I have tracked down the brand to Dermabond Advanced, for which the manufacturer's instructions say, no soaking until the glue has completely gone.

So, I guess I will have to direct a hot shower at my neck/shoulder instead.

I have asked for a call back from my GP's Practise Nurse as well, just in case.

Sounds sensible! Sorry about your bath, hopefully it won't be too long until it's all properly healed

Thank you.

Quick update. Just spoke to the Practice Nurse and she confirmed, no baths (except sitz baths for people that don't own a shower) for four weeks or until the glue has completely gone.

Glad I double checked. It must vary by op and product, because some hospitals seem to say baths are ok after 48 hours.

Right, now I really do need to jump in the shower if I am going to get ds to his hospital appointment on time!

I undergone lap chole a few years ago and I took a bath 5 days after i got discharged form the hospital

Apparently it depends on which glue they use. The one I had was apparently the best, but has to be kept dry for longer.

I think I'd better be strict with myself and stick to the advice, as our family has a connective tissue disorder, which can make scars a lot worse than they would be for others anyway, so I need to be careful.

Actually, I am now wondering if the connective tissue thing is why they needed the stronger glue and possibly why I've been called for follow up. I am undiagnosed, but but diagnosed with a related condition, my Mum and ds2 are diagnosed and ds1 is under investigation.