FEVER

Wind. Water. Wound. Walking. And I forget, is there a fifth? Four elements of concern when a patient is spiking a postop fever. Mine isn’t high 99.9F, but the fact that I’ve been trying to take more Ibuprofen and Acetomenophen (Advil and Tylenol) rather than Percocet, may be masking it, since both are strong antipyretics, and fight fever at the same time that they fight inflammation and pain.

So lets look at these. I can almost eliminate wind and walking, as earlier causes of post op fever. Getting mobilized and walking around in the hospital and here at home have prevented the complications of atelectasis and deep vein thrombosis. I don’t have any shortness of breath, chest pains, leg swelling, palpable cords of clotted veins, or calf pain.

Water. A urinary tract infection? Been drinking lots of water and fluids to stay hydrated. Urination has been uncomfortable, but more around my incision and in my pelvis, rather than burning about my urethra when I pee. I can almost imagine the bladder adhering to my healing wound and pulling on it each time it empties. But the urine itself is clear, no blood, no cloudiness, so more than likely, it’s not a UTI.

Wound. Hmm. Well the laparoscopic incisions, one inside my innie of a belly button, and two 5mm wounds on either side seem OK. The problem is I can’t really see the other, largest incision. It’s hidden under the most adorable curtain of fat and flesh and stretch marks that I ‘ve had a problem getting rid of since having my babies. When I lie down, it redistributes to almost flat, but I can’t see it lying down, and when I stand up, well I guess I have to hike it up to see the incision underneath. Still covered with steristrips, with a little old blood on them. No drainage, or fluctuance, a little firm at either pole, and some ecchymosis (bruising) between the umbilicus (belly button) and the larger incision. The length of the wound, as expected, is numb, anesthetic, but pulling my fat up to look at it smarts. So maybe it’s the wound. Guess I’ll stay in bed tonight and let the kids take care of me and keep an eye on it on the weekend.