Arthroscopic incision problems.

[Dawn1980]

About two weeks ago I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee that involved a lateral release of my patella. Tonight I came home and noticed drastic differences in both the bruising and incision sites. The bruises have been dark purple but now there are odd white spots in the middle of these dark bruises. They don't feel hard but they are rather noticeable. The incision sites are raised, red, hard, and really itchy but emit no extra heat or leakage. Until this point I have had no complications; actually quite the obvious with the very little bruising for the first week to week and a half. There has been next to know pain since the day after surgery. I'm mobile and off crutches. The only thing I have done tonight for this is clean the incision sites with hydrogen peroxide and replace the bandages. Has anyone else expereinced this? Do I need to be concerned? Should I go to the ER? I'm not sure if internal stitches were used for me to reject. There is no streaking and I don't have a fever.

[Dr_Veena]

Hi,
     Thanks for writing in. I think you are just worrying too much. At the bruise site white spots are due to completion of process of healing and deposition of collagen.

Itching after surgery usually means the tissue is healing. If the skin is red and swollen then you might have an infection. It's better if you ask your doctor to make sure and to get a recommendation for a medication to help you.
Best.

[Dawn1980]

Thanks for replying!

I did end up seeing a few doctors after the left incision broke open oozing serum and I developed a rash. The white spots in the bruise turned into itchy hard bumps. The first doctor said it was a wound infection. The second said contact dermatitis. The third said allergic contact dermatitis and put me on Prednisone and hydroxyzine HCL. When my surgeon came back from vacation today, he agreed with the third doctor and told me to come back in three weeks. None of the doctors knew what I could be reacting to.

The Prednisone seems to be clearing up the rash and the left incision stopped oozing. The bruise is back to looking like a bruise. Now I just tend to sleep a lot from the anti-histamines but that is to be expected.

Again, thanks for replying.

Sincerely,

Dawn