Abscess and Treatment

I recently had an abscess after surgery while I was still in the hospital. Antibiotics don't necessarily work because an abscess is a closed system - not connected to your circulatory system - and the drugs can't get into the abscess to treat it. If the build-up is tiny enough, sometimes your body can resolve it on its own, but if it is enough to cause you discomfort, I'd suspect you'd need to have it drained. In addition to antibiotics, I had to have drains put in my sides at the interventional radiology department and then had to have them repositioned twice to get all the fluid out. If I were you I'd look into maybe getting a second opinion or at least insist on a CT scan, which would show exactly where the build-up is and how much is there, giving a better idea on whether it needs more advanced treatment. The last thing you need is for build-up in your abdomen to turn septic because it was not treated properly.

Thank you. Does the radiologist do it? Does it hurt?

Yes, the radiologist puts the drain in. As long as you are fully sedated when they do it, which is standard practice, then it does not hurt - you should be so out of it that you don't care or feel anything, similar to when you get a colonoscopy... so just make sure they plan on sedating you or yes it would hurt a great deal. Remember you will be all drugged up afterwards, so you will need someone to drive you home if they do it as an outpatient procedure.

If you were asking about the CT scan, that doesn't hurt at all. It feels a little weird when they give you the IV contrast fluid, but no pain.