Anybody ever have a bone infection?

[wanderer]

well 6 surgeries now   feeling fine except for this PICC line in my arm.    Looks like I'm in for 4 to 6 more weeks of IV antibiotics.  I've been on them two weeks already.

Surgeon tells me he knows I don't have a bone infection but wants to treat me like I do just in case.

Infectious disease doctor says no way to tell for sure if I do or not but since I have had this infection so long I might have one.   He also mentioned a slight csf leak,  Surgeon said no CSF leak so I got to get to the bottom of that.

The bug doctor says the CSF leak is no big deal, to which I replied i've had 6 surgeries this year it's a big deal.   I think it made him nervous when I said I would be calling my surgeon to inquire about the csf leak.

ear still is leaking but not as much.   

So anyway,  has anybody else ended up with a bone infection?

[Deputy1]

I was just released tuesday (04/11/06) from the hospital due to a bone infection. I had my 3cm AN resected on Monday (03/20/06) retosigmoid approach. i was out of the hospital on Friday (03/24/06) and a week later they removed the sutures. The following Wednesday(04/05/06) I woke up and fluid was draining from my wound. My wife immediately rushed me to the local emergency room fearing it was a CSF leak. Where the physician gave me an antibiotic IV, a CT scan and contacted my neurosurgeon. The local hospital did not feel comfortable treating me (nor did I trust them to). So they had me transported me to the hospital where my original surgery had been done. I was taken back to the same floor I had been previously for my recovery from the AN surgery. I saw my neruosurgeon on the following day and he said that it was not a CSF leak and they had not found anything on the cultures that the hospital took the previous day. I was relieved to find out that it was not a CSF leak and i was hoping to get out of the hospital the next day. However, I woke up around 2 AM friday morning after feeling more fluid draining from the wound site. The Nerosurgeon that was working came in and took a culture of fluid and they stopped the leaking. At 6 AM one of the nerosurgeons from my nerosurgeons team told me that I would need another surgery that day to clean the wound site. They took me into surgery around 12:30 and I woke up in recovery around 3:30 pm and I was sent back to my room. My nerosurgeon came to see me on Saturday and explained that when they went in they saw that the bone was "swimming in pus",his words, and that they need to remove the bone. I Spent another couple of days in the hospital where they pumped me with antibiotics that made me so natious that I didn't want to eat or even move. They gave me PICC line and now I have to take IV antibiotics every 12 hours at home. As of yet, I have not had any side effects from the second surgery. I am still dealing with the bells palsy on my left side, as well as, eyes, and headaches everybody else seems to have issues with. My main concern is with my ability to go back to work. I am still a probationary employee as Deputy Sheriff in one of the largest counties in the state. Probationary meaning they don't need a very good reason to let me go. And the ability to do the job I was hired for is a pretty good reason to let someone go. As of yet, I have not heard anything regarding my employment but I was planning on getting back to work next week ,having used up all of my sick, vacation and comp time, at least in a light duty status however that not going to happen due to this latest setback. Sorry about that I just needed to vent my concerns. But that was my experince with a bone infection resulting from AN Surgery.

[juliotamu]

I had acoustic neuroma surgery 3/15/05 to remove a 2.5 cm tumor by an incision behind the ear. The tumor was draining for a year or so. I saw the doctor on 5/19/05, then 9/05, 11/05, when finally in 12/05 a neurosurgery doctor didnt like the way the wound looked and put me in the hospital. The doctor wanted plastic surgery to help work on the wound but they would not see me due to no insurance. So the doctor still didnt tell me the bone was infected. I thought it just needed covering.

I procrastinated to see if my dizzyness would get better (dizzy since 11/04 due to blood vessel bursting due to tumor) till March, entered a different hospital where my doctor said the plastic surgery people would see me. They scheduled the surgery but again threw me out of the hospital due to no insurance (different hospital than one where acoustic neuroma performed).

They then scheduled plastic surgery clinic appt in April 06 where surgery was scheduled for 4/19. Now after talking to my neurosurgery doctor he says the bone put back in the hole after surgery is infected and they will cut a quarter size hole of bone out, then let plastic surgery cover it leaving a soft spot on my head. There was drainage from the wound from 3/05 to now (4/06) and I'm wondering if their delay resulted in the infdection and if I should get the bone drilled out.

Thats my experience. Since I'm dizzy all the time I'm trying to get SSI (have attorney now).

[Battyp]

Wow you two have been throught a lot! 

I'm waving my magic batty wand to help heal you or at least make you chuckle 

Deputy1 where are you?  Sounds like if you're under your 90 days they can get rid of you without a reason however!  If they employ more than 20 people modifications should be made!  Personally I think it's horrible to have to worry about your job and no health insurance at a time like this but know many of us do..me included.  If they do let you go...file for SSI and Disability and go apply at vocational rehab..in fact I'd do the voc rehab now!

Juliotamu hang in there...

brighter days have to be there for all of us!

[wanderer]

IV antibiotics,   I forget what they put me on but it was to treat bone infections.     I had a PICC line for 8 weeks and gave myself antibiotics every day during that time.     My infection healed up and no problems since.
Get to an infectious disease doctor Asap.

[katherine]

Hi,  When you all talk about bone infections are yu talking about actual bone or the material they use to cover the hole in your head?  When I had my second surgery that was needed to clean out the infection I never was told I had infected bone but they did clean out the bone replacement material.  They put me on antibiotics so something was going on.  I am confused about whether some people get actual bone put back in the hole.  Right now I just have a hole in my head and I think my brains are falling out.  Katherine

[sunshine16]

aside from leakage for obvious sign of infected bone, what else I need to watch out? 

[wanderer]

the actual bone can become infected.    it is called osteo mylenitis  (not sure if I spelled it right)   I had the bone cement removed as well, but it did not keep me from having recurrent infections.


My primary symptoms where leaking,  or squishy areas arount the incision site.
tiredness
intermittent pain (not frequent for me)
tightness of the skin around the incision
swelling of the ear and cheek area

also you could develop a fever
elevated inflamation markers in the blood work.

I did not have the last two but It was obvious I had a problem

Also bone infections usually show up on an MRI   mine did not.

[Battyp]

katherine my doc put my actual bone back in with titanium screws.  I def. don't think I'd like the hole and squishy part !

[wanderer]

I did not have a hole,   after translab there should be no hole,  except for the pourus area of the bone that was cut.  This is what is usually sealed with the bone cement.   Or plugged with fat.

[sunshine16]

Mine I think was plugged w/ fat, coz I have this incision on my little belly.  he he

[Battyp]

They could have taken all the fat from my belly to plug any hole they wanted LOL  I had retro, they replaced the bone but I do have some strange indentions left where I'm missing stuff.

[terracotta]

Hello,
I did not have acoustic neuroma surgery. I was given a very new diagnosis "superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome."  A disabling vestibular condition. The only treatment is surgical via a temporal fossa craniotomy. At the time I had surgery, there were few patients diagnosed and treated. (Maybe 20 worldwide) The actual surgery is less complex then AN surgery so there should be less of a chance for complications to arise. There is a SCDS yahoo support site but there are less then 20 of us that have had surgery and nearly everyone that has surgery quickly recovers, they're completely cured, (other then maybe dizzies when turning head fast) and euphoric about getting their life back. Anyway through research I'm finding my post op experience has been more acoustic neuroma patient-like. Unfortunately for me and my surgeons we did not have the benefit of accumulated experience which lead to a pretty scary and lonely ride. Imagine being one of the first 20 patients ever operated on for an AN and then running into complications? 

Hence here I am.  I woke up from surgery deaf on the affected side. Doctors didn't know why. (No one else on the yahoo site has become deaf post op.) Of course I was on steroids post op.  As I began to tapper off the steroids I developed a facial palsy. I was put on another round of steroids. I was placed on another round about 6 weeks post op to hopefully get my hearing back. No luck. My eye was killing me so I had a plug placed in the tear duct. My ear was hurting and I had some swelling at this point. My PCP thought my superfiical nerves around the craniotomy incision was still healing. Pretty soon going outside in bright light set off pain behind my eye. Then the swelling began to fluctuate. I headed to the airport to hop a plane to my doctor. The doctor took a syringe and aspirated a large amount of pus. I was sent to the hospital. My bone flap was infected. (cranio-osteomyelitis) The bone flap was removed and the surgeon explored the temporal fossa. I was sent home on IV antibiotics. Still I continued to get drainage. I returned 4 weeks post bone flap removal and was hospitalized again. Another surgery to debride and a mastoidectomy. Sent home on different IV antibiotics.  Two months later I'm given a clean bill of health. A week later I run a fever and have a horrible headache so back to the hospital. I had an epidural abscess! I was sent home on still another IV antibiotic. A few days home I had horrible abdomen pain which turned out to be my gallbladder. I had to have that removed. Apparently this was a really rare reaction to the antibiotic I was on for the epidural abscess. Of course the GB problem was the least of my worries, unfortunaately the operation occured Xmas day! Pretty demoralizing. Anyway my surgeons and Infectious disease doc watched me and my abscess for about 2 months via MRI. Finally, they went back in to clean out the temporal fossa and they also removed my ossicles.

Its believed the numerous round of steroids lowered my immune system and lead to the slow development of the infection. Its been about a year since this last surgery. In many ways I'm still recovering. 

To answer your original question wanderer, yes I have had a bone infection.  This is one of the hardest infections to treat and cope with.