Yesterday we had the 1st follow-up with Dr. Ertl. Carol and I were both very surprised at how well the wound looked. If you take a look at Day 18's pictures it looks both swollen and rather angry, with a thick black line running from end to end. Frankly the difference between the wound yesterday and the day 18 pictures is almost unbelievable. When Dr. Ertl removed the vac on Monday the black band was essentially gone. There was no sign of infection. I wasn't there when the bandage was last changed. The pictures certainly make it look as if the stump is very swollen. In reality it is not.

Dr. Ertl did a debridement on the wound.

Debride: To remove dead, contaminated or adherent tissue or foreign material. The purpose of wound debridement is to remove all materials that may promote infection and impede healing. This may be done by enzymatic debridement (as with proteolytic enzymes), mechanical nonselective debridement (as in a whirlpool), or sharp debridement (by surgery). Debride comes from the French débrider, to remove the bridle (as from a horse).

He did the sharp debridement. It was interesting to watch, but Carol couldn't. She laid down on her stomach for the procedure. The end result is that the wound, which was mostly closed is now a fully open wound. The wound vac is back on. Carol's symptoms of phantom pain have subsided to be replaced by physical stump pain due to the debridement.

She is in good spirits and actually slept through the night last night, which is probably the first time since the surgery.

I also got the actual pictures from the surgery. I took a look at them last night. They are not for the faint of heart. I am still undecided whether or not to post some of them. If I do I will put plenty of warning about the nature of the images.

The pictures below were taken right before the debridement on Monday. We have yet another follow-up next Monday.

The lighting wasn't great here. This 1st picture is the side that has always been more open.