post-surgical hematoma

[blessedwithboys]

ds1, age 15, had surgery on monday to remove a birthmark that had changed dramatically over the last few yrs and was at high risk for becoming cancerous.

the birthmark itself was only 3.5mm long and about a 2mm top to bottom. the plastic surgeon did a 3 layer close and the scar is about 6 in long and uglier than both my csec scars.

anyway, we kept ds home from school tues (general anesthesia and loads of hydrocodone) but the surgeon said he could go wed. none of teachers allowed him to leave class 5 min before the bell to avoid getting bumped in the hall, plus ds wore his heavy backpack on both shoulders (scar is lateral) and even did a few push ups despite threats against his life from his dad (joke)

so he got his BP up and a humongous hematoma developed which had to be drained today by the biggest needle i have ever seen.

starting 2 hrs after the surgery, i've been giving ds wobenzym and arnica by mouth. i read a few sites just now that say to only give the arnica for 2 days after surgery. today is 4 days...could the arnica actually be making it worse now?!

also, i've thought of doing hot packs to break up the blood. good idea? what about hot castor oil packs?

our next follow up is in 10 days, 14, days post op, but the dr told me to bring ds right back if the swelling gets an bigger, as they can only drain it by needle so many times before a repeat surgery is indicated (and then he will have to leave the skin open for draining until underneath heals, which means no school)

can anyone recommend what to do about the internal bleeding and blood pooling?

[Violet2]

I would just back off right now and let the body clot off the bleeding. Once the injury is stable and several days old, you could consider warm packs (I wouldn't go for hot, hot). Heat will speed up the blood exchange in local tissue so that the bruise clears up faster, but it can also hurt.

You can also 'pluck' to help the old blood disperse. This is a massage therapy technique that is akin to gentle 'pinching'. Like you're super gently plucking bird feathers--it's light, almost no pressure and fast. This will speed up the healing of a bruise.

But I wouldn't do it if there's pain and I would wait wait wait.

And probably yell at the school principal and maybe keep DS home a few more days.

Hope he feels better!

ETA: I would def. keep him home and resting as activity tends to exacerbate bleeding.
V

[blessedwithboys]

ok, i will tell ds not to take anything but lortab today.

can i "pluck" if the incision is opening in one spot? obviously it would be dont in the big fat puffy area around the actual cut, not right on top of it...

how soon can i do a deeper massage for the adhesions i feel forming?

thanks for you help!

[Violet2]

You can pluck around the open part but again this is beyond gentle, think fluttering. If it is causing pain you must stop. The goal is to affect lymphatic circulation which requires a very light touch.

Adhesion massage is deep tissue massage--you are going to have to wait until the area can withstand that kind of intensity without sustaining damage. It will be a while, a couple weeks.

Don't rush. Give the body space to do what it needs to do right now to prevent more surgery. His wound does not sound stable and that concerns me--I would not want to do anything that might compound things.

I did adhesion massage on myself for wrist surgery and it was quite effective. I didn't start until week 2 or so out from surgery and I had to keep doing it for months. My scars are barely noticeable and docs comment on easily the skin moves. So it is helpful, but nothing to be rushed.

V

[mbravebird]

From a mom of a boy with hemophilia -- we've seen a lot of really bad hematomas over here. I find that Arnica oil works better than homeopathic arnica for getting rid of hematomas. I actually do a combination of arnica oil and castor oil (no heat). Castor oil is good at helping the body reabsorb the blood. You'll find the arnica oil in the herb section or in the first aid section. The cream is still homeopathic; don't get the cream; you want the oil.

Comfrey poultices will also help tremendously, if you have access to any fresh comfrey. Plantain poultices will also help-- you probably have plantain growing in your yard; google it to see what it looks like.

Good old ice will also help.

Internally, nettle will help, although I think fresh nettle juice is the most helpful, and that's a mail-order thing.

I agree that he really needs to rest!

[blessedwithboys]

Originally Posted by mbravebird

From a mom of a boy with hemophilia -- we've seen a lot of really bad hematomas over here. I find that Arnica oil works better than homeopathic arnica for getting rid of hematomas. I actually do a combination of arnica oil and castor oil (no heat). Castor oil is good at helping the body reabsorb the blood. You'll find the arnica oil in the herb section or in the first aid section. The cream is still homeopathic; don't get the cream; you want the oil.

Comfrey poultices will also help tremendously, if you have access to any fresh comfrey. Plantain poultices will also help-- you probably have plantain growing in your yard; google it to see what it looks like.

Good old ice will also help.

Internally, nettle will help, although I think fresh nettle juice is the most helpful, and that's a mail-order thing.

I agree that he really needs to rest!

i've never heard of arnica oil. i used to use hylands bumps and bruises stick but its got some junk in it, dont recall if its parabens or what, but i went to the health food store recently and all the homepathic arnics creams and gels had "junk" of some sort or another, so i skipped them all. i will have to call and ask if htey have arnica oil.

i had though of castor oil. i have a huge bottle i bought for my plantar fasciitis. i figured if it could break down calcification it could do the same for blood clots. i will for sure try that today.

of course the surgeon told us to do nothing but thats cuz he knows i'm into herbal stuff and such. i already made the mistake of asking his opinion on manuka honey.

thx all for your input! i've tried massage on my csec adhesions and it hurt too much to keep it up, it hurt more than the actual recoveries did!