Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
1347273 tn?1317627138

surgical belly button wound infection and crp of 18

I have had a problem with a surgical belly button healing. I had emergency surgery on 24th October 2011 done laproscopic with three wound sites. The other tow sites healed but my belly button healed. I had swabs taken which showed coliform and had been on 4 different antibiotics. I then got sent for a CT scan which showed I had an umbilical hernia so got operated on the 19th December to sort wound out and repair hernia which was only done through belly button. On Christmas Eve it re-opened an swap showed staph areus and coliform so was put on oral antibiotics which didn't work so was admitted for IV antibiotics which closed the wound but after getting home from hospital it re-opened and was put on oral antibiotics which did nothing. My gynaecologist consultant who had done the operations didn't know what to do so I got referred to a general surgeon who took a swab and I am having a MRI scan. I saw my G.P today as I am really not feeling well. My gynaecologist took some bloods done on the 12th January which showed my CRP was 18mg/l and my eosinophils are elevated but in december when I had bloods done everything was normal as far as I know. I am getting checked out for lymphoma and see my haematologist next Monday but am wondering is the crp from my wound infection or if I have lymphoma could it possible to do with that. I have had my crp tested loads of time and the highest it has ever gone up is to 3mg/l and I have also had this wound infection since Oct so why has it taken my crp to go up so slowly when it was normal in December.

I would really appreciate your help

Kind Regards

Irishgirl aka Emma
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Going by the symptoms that you have mentioned this time (itch, night sweats, lymph nodes hurting after taking alcohol), I thinkwe should rule out Hodgkin's lymphoma.
This may require a lymph node biopsy but it is better to be sure.
Helpful - 0
1347273 tn?1317627138
Thank you for the reply. What that there is a possibility that I have lymphoma is that I am very itchy all over my body with no rash, have night sweats, Short of breath and a cough, When I drink alcohol my lymph nodes hurt and then I have a couple of lymph nodes up in my neck which are not painful, quite tired and fatigued. I am seeing a haematologist at The Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK in a weeks time as a lot of my consultants say that my symptoms are classical of lymphoma and need to get checked out. I know bloods can be normal when you have lymphoma. So that was why I was asking the question was the high CRP and Eosinophil count be due to the wound or if I did have lymphoma would it be due to the lymphoma.

Kind Regards

Irishgirl aka Emma
Helpful - 0
1760320 tn?1316453833
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Dear Irishgirl1980,

Thanks for posting your query.

It is unfortunate that you are having persistent wound infection for such a long time. The high C reactive protein(CRP) levels in your case can occur due to several reasons, the most probable one being a wound infection and the associated inflammation ( the symptoms of redness and swelling).  All infections at all stages do not cause an increase in the CRP levels. This is the reason why it has been slowly increasing since these levels are typically increased in acute (infections which come on suddenly and last for a short time) infections.

However, the current clinical picture (a high CRP and eosinophil count) is not suggestive of a lymphoma. I would If the report of the magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI scan) is normal, the possibility of a lymphoma is negligible.

I would like to reassure you that the possibility of a lymphoma is extremely low and this sounds like a farfetched diagnosis.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Best Regards,
Dr. Indranil Ghosh
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Leukemia Forum

Popular Resources
An interview with the co-discoverer of one of the biggest breakthroughs in cancer research
From causes to treatment options, get answers to your questions about CML, a type of blood cancer
New drug options on the horizon may make CML, a type of blood cancer, one of the few success stories in cancer treatment
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.