Week 3, part 2

So the last few days have been a bit of a regression.

I had the remains of my stitches removed last Thursday. However, I had a bit of a scab at the end of the incision where they took out the hamstring for the graft, and after this washed away it revealed some more remnants of stitches. These poking out of my skin have prevented the wound from fully closing over, and have become a little bit infected with a little reddening and some discharge.

I've been to see my local doctor, however she said that as the rest of the wound has healed and the operation was over 3 weeks ago, the chances of a proper infection setting in are small. As the stitches are meant to be soluble she predicted that they would eventually dissolve, or if they haven't by the next time I see the surgeon (3 weeks from yesterday) he could remove them. She thinks that tampering with it might just lead to greater problems.

My knee has become a little more swollen and tender and I am back to using two crutches, having reduced to one last week. I can bear weight on my leg, but it feels very bruised and it quite painful. My limp has also got worse. Going back to two crutches is a little bit frustrating since I was told that I wouldn't even need crutches at all two weeks post surgery, but there isn't much I can do about that. I thought that this might be due to the infection from the stitches, but the doctor says its more likely that I was just a bit too keen and did a little too much too soon.

In general the slow pace of recovery for the last few weeks has been a little frustrating. I knew it would be slow, but it doesn't really make it any less annoying.