Thinking of Canceling Surgery

[sistersinhim]

@Josephine, since my normal tooth extraction turned out to be anything but normal, my dentist prescribed the antibiotics knowing that in less that 3 weeks I was scheduled for a TKR. I took them. I hope it was the right thing to do. My last stitch came out last night and I feel so much better!

 

[jmdearras]

Jim, that was 2 weeks ago and I'm healing fine.

Great. I had pneumonia just before my first knee surgery and finished the antibiotics the day of the requirement that I be off other meds. It was close.

 

[Josephine]

SIH, that was perfect!

 

[sistersinhim]

@Josephine, thank you for easing my mind and...

So whatever you do in the way of pets or anything else at home is pretty much irrelevant. But the key is that everyone from patient and domestic to surgeons, should wash their hands before going to a patient. Wash, wash, wash - and then wash again! That's the way to prevent infection. Not depriving pets of their usual comforts!

thank you for saying it's OK to have my 'kids' with me the night before surgery. I still don't understand starting to wash with antibiotic soap two weeks in advance. Isn't that the same thing as being prescribed antibiotics just in case? Everyday I'm going outside and sweating and getting dirty. IMO it doesn't matter what I wash with before the surgery.

 

[jmdearras]

two weeks seems like a long time. mine was less than a week

 

[sistersinhim]

I thought it was, too. How can it help when we just get dirty everyday after we 'antibiotic' ourselves?

 

[Josephine]

No that's not what it is though I do agree that two weeks is a bit over the top. The reason for the wash is that these bugs tend to colonise creases on our bodies like those in the perineum and so on. Very often they don't get properly cleansed the first or second time so it's best to be safe.

But do also understand that these aren't the usual bugs we pick up around the house or while out shopping - or from pets! These are the staphyloccus aureus that are methycillin resistant, or MRSA. Some also call it 'multi resistant' which is equally applicable. It's also known as the hospital bug for obvious reasons.

 

[sistersinhim]

They did a MRSA test which came back negative, thank God, since I just had surgery in November! I have antibiotic hand soap that I've begun washing all over with, except not on my face, hair or privates. They said it was way to drying to use on those spots. Thank you explaining why we do this. It makes more sense to me now, and I'm sure many other, too.

 

[Josephine]

I also forgot that to mention that in the UK we are also asked to use an antiseptic cream in the nose. I don't know about your side of the pond but part of the pre-op assessment includes nasal, throat, perineal and vaginal swabs. All very good places for MRSA to colonise! Moist, infrequently washed and aerobic.

("yum,yum" said the bacteria!!)

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh my goodness. The US is not nearly as invasive yet. Give them a chance though, and I'm sure we will.

 

[PolarBear60]

Unless they did it after I was knocked out, I'm not aware of any MRSA swabbing prior to Knee 1 last year.

 

[sistersinhim]

This was the first time for me.

 

[newlybionic]

In the US there have been statistics done on testing in the nares for MRSA and it was found that the majority test positive for it due to being exposed to it daily at work. Before my first surgery I tested positive and then used the prescribed cream to clear it up prior to surgery. While I do understand stand using the the surgical scrubs at home prior to surgery it made no sense to me using it for the five days preceding surgery. I was still working and continually exposed to all types of bacteria including MRSA. A good scrub prior to going to the hospital is a good first line but it's mainly the conditions in the OR and their ability to maintain a sterile field and to clean the area of the surgery that is most important. Would not allow my dogs to sit on my lap with any open wounds.

 

[sistersinhim]

And I will not let my cats sit on my knee without it covered until it is completely healed. Of course, it will automatically be covered really well until there are no opened places anyway. I doubt I'd let them on it for a long time! I don't like pain!

 

[sistersinhim]

So why would anyone want to endanger others by not following the protocols set up by their surgeon?

This was set up by the hospital, not my OS. They want to cover all possibilities, which I understand. I would never knowingly put anyone in danger because of my selfishness. As I have said before, I am doing the washing with the special soap now and I will use the antibiotic wipes as instructed. I have 4 bags of them. Plenty to make sure I have enough.

 

[newlybionic]

I had on some type of sweats or pajama bottoms and a sheet on top of that and then they could sit with me. I did that until my incision was completely healed. If I live alone how else could I handle my dogs?

 

[sistersinhim]

Even now I have a towel over my legs if I have on shorts before I let a cat on my lap. My plans are to wear long skirts for the first few weeks. That way I won't have to worry about pulling more than one pain of pants up and down to go to the potty! If I am going to be as slow as I think I'll be then the less hassle the better!

 

[Floridagal]

Since my pre-op was so close to surgery and with a holiday thrown in there would be no time to determine if I was MRSA positive or not. So they assume I am positive and I immediately had to start bathing every day with the special soap. There are no wipes involved. They sent swaps from my nose for testing anyway. I doubt if I will ever get the results.

 

[Celle]

@Celle I didn't know ABC news was a qestionable source ?! Actually there are numerous sites on line that comment on the possibility of animals and people passing MRSA back and forth.

We do have a rule on BoneSmart, that if you quote any information you also provide a source, so that people can read it for themselves.

You believe everything you see or read in the media? I'm a skeptic, so I don't.
What I was meaning was a valid study, not just a report by a news agency. The media always tend to sensationalize items like this, because it makes a good story.

Nothing I read on the internet (and I did go searching, too) proved to me that the MRSA had passed from that dog to the humans and not from the humans to the dog. Transfer either way is obviously possible. While there were multiple mentions of MRSA being passed from this dog to his humans, I could find no report by the veterinarians or doctors themselves that proved this.

The transfer of infections between humans and their pets is not a new discovery. The dangers to the human foetus if a pregnant woman catches toxoplasmosis from her cat have been known for at least 20 years.



While there is a risk of catching some infection from a pet, that risk is very slight indeed and is not worth worrying people about, before their replacement surgery. The precautions taken before surgery should be sufficient to prevent it.

 

[sistersinhim]

@Celle, thank you. I was beginning to feel like I was getting beat up!