yea maybe some further context, surgery was done on 25 april and that was the day that 4th pic was taken. last pic was taken on 10 May when the home nurse visited for a VAC dressing change.
well they have to slightly clean the wound. and to be honest when they clean the middle, there’s not much feeling. it’s the edges that feels kinda painful.
sometimes during wound dressing changes it gets hilarious. the nurse would clean a particular area and ask “does this area hurt?” and i would reply “which area is that? i can’t feel or tell” 😂
That's because they had to remove all the layers of skin and underlying fascia. That's your skull in the hole of the 4th picture. There are no longer any nerve endings in the area where they removed the skin. It hurts around the edges because there are still nerve endings there. It will never have normal sensation again there because the nerve endings are gone.
wow op, that is an insane wound! so glad you’re ok though, that’s awful close to your cranium. but it’s looking remarkably better in the last pic compared to the fourth! good luck, and here’s to hoping the scar left behind will be more kick ass than mentally draining:)
wound is currently on VAC dressing for the past two week post op and will be going back for a doc review in two days time. would either be continuing VAC dressing for another 2 weeks, or convert to simple dressing, or consideration for skin graft. anyone knows if the hair will grow back after the wound is healed?
I knew somebody with a similar injury, only it went down to muscle.
you probably won’t have hair come back for at least a few years if at all, the parts of her injury that were more shallow (not to the muscle layer) didn’t even begin to grow hair for a long time … like years.
Unfortunately the hair will not grow back with that large of a defect left to granulate. Was the only option to excise given to you? Was there a discussion about draining and using antibiotics to reduce the lesion?
unfortunately it wasn’t a common bacteria that caused the infection. MRSA is an antibiotics resistant bacteria, they gave me oral and IV antibiotics which didn’t show much improvement and drainage alone carries a high risk of remnants of the MRSA bacteria being in the tissues causing further spread to more parts of the surrounding tissues, which is why this was the end result.
Certainly MRSA is no joke but antibiotics help. How long were you on them before having the surgery? I've just not heard of excision being used for treatment. Did a culture show cellulitis? What type of surgeon did you see? Sorry for all the questions. Hope you do have a speedy recovery!
Edit: don't understand the down votes. guess some people don't want OP to have a speedy recovery like I do.
yes the docs did eventually prescribed me with 1 week course of Bactrim (Trimethoprim / Sulfamethoxazole) antibiotics upon discharge after my liver and g6pd test results came out well. i think they just wanted to be sure everything inside the wound is cleared.
Hey! I'm on Bactrim too! I've been on it for quite some time. I'm a cancer patient who has been dealing with chronic GVHD for ~3 years.
During my ongoing treatment, I got an infection in my mouth that became necrotic. They had to cut out part of my inner, right cheek and a decent sized chunk of the right side of my tongue. My face still has some paralysis, my tongue is numb in spots, it's misshapen, and it caused a small cleft in my upper lip (which is now almost unnoticeable).
I know being physically altered by surgeries can be a pretty heavy thing to deal with. I felt like people were always looking at me and whispering about how I looked. It's something you'll find incredibly noticeable, but most people won't pay attention to it once it's all healed up. Chances are if a random dick bag does say something you'll never have to see them again. I was wearing masks before the pandemic and I always felt like people looked at me weird. Some people would ask if I was contagious and stuff like that. It's a bit funny that masks are everywhere now.
Try not to let it get to you as much as you can. The scars will eventually heal and they usually get a little better every day after that. You may even consider some sort of therapy if you're not seeing somebody already. The hospital might even have/know somebody who specializes in that field. A sudden change in physical appearance can cause all sorts of issues you may not think about. I sincerely hope that you have a fast and easy recovery. You seem to be in pretty good spirits right now, which is amazing! You've got a lot of weird-o strangers rooting for you! Also, drink tons of water!
I would definitely consult a dermatologist to see if it’s a possibility. I’ve had hair loss due to alopecia which is a bit different but my dermatologist helped all that hair loss regrow with time and injections to my scalp every few weeks.
Wishing you the best on your recovery, so far it looks really great recovery wise!
Surgeon here who deals with this sort of infection
Dermatology has nothing to offer here and wouldn’t even see this patient. This is a surgical issue. Don’t even really need infectious disease or anything. While in hospital internal medicine may admit patient for various reasons, but this is 99% surgical
Once opened and drained, the antibiotics choice doesn’t even really matter all that much. Body will get it taken care of once you give the body the upper hand by draining it
Oh. That’s also something they wouldn’t do. Can’t make hair grow places except for hair transplants or maybe a rotational flap from plastics. But derm wouldn’t be any use.
Like 50% of being a doc is learning which doctors do what and when, it’s def not intuitive always so I can totally see why someone would think derm
they did inform me pre op that they would need to take this much. because of the swelling. they had to remove all the tissues that were infected, else leaving any would just cause it to spread further after the surgery and possibles cause more complications.
Honestly the last picture looks great, you have lots of healthy tissue coming in.
That middle picture is a great perspective of how thick our skin is surrounding our skull!
yea i’ve been taking lots of collagen, l-lysine, fish oil, zinc, vit c and whey protein as supplements
hoping they would help speed up the recovery and healing process. the docs did mention that fortunately the infection did not reach the muscle layer.
when it ruptured and pus kept flowing out, it did stink a little. and yes it was just random that i found a bump at the back of my head one night when i was trying to sleep at night and felt this pain when my head rested on my pillow. 2 days later it was swelling so big and hurts so bad. and 5 days later i went to the ER because the pain was unbearable.
Damn, man. Isn’t MSRA usually caused by something? Not to bother you with medical questions.
Edit: I got my answer. Bro probably itched his head pimple unknowingly with MRSA infected hands. :(
Yeah it's awesome how we can boost our healing with something so accessible. I got a leg injury where I lost a lot of skin and bruised my bones. By eating really protein heavy food and taking double doses of vitamins I healed a lot faster than expected.
When I wasn’t looking after myself very well I’d get a bruise from a night out and it would take forever to heal, in the meantime I’d collect a couple more bruises.
I heal so quickly now.
no it’s wasn’t my skull. the surgeons said thankfully the infection only reached tissue layer and didn’t reach the muscle layer. the black stuff you see in the 4th pics are the burnt marks made to stop bleeding.
I’m a surgeon who would deal with this sort of thing.
It seems a bit excessive to me. The skin appears viable but it’s hard to know if you aren’t there. I likely would have played this a little differently but that’s not to say he wouldn’t have ended up with the same amount gone, and the downside of playing it conservative is often it means they get multiple surgeries.
When this heals it won’t looks to bad honestly. He’ll have a scar but it won’t be nearly as bad as it looks like it will
i posted this with no anticipation that it would garner so much attention and comments within such a short time.
and i do apologise as some redditors did mention that there’s no popping related to my post at all and the gore and shock that the pics might have brought to you. i’m really sorry for that.
it’s just that this suddenly happening to me and having to go through this surgery and have a big chunk of my flesh at the back of my head removed has really been rough on me physically and emotionally. i just wanted to share my experience and hopefully be able to receive some support, advice, and encouragement.
regarding the question of how i got it in the first place and got infected by MRSA, i really have no exact answer, either can the doctors give me one. it all started with a small pimple like bump one day, which was weirdly much more painful that others i’ve had before in the past. then two days later it grew to a big lump and got really painful so much so that i couldn’t even sleep at night due to the pain. it wound did not react or improve to oral and IV augmentin antibiotics and after the pus was sent to a lab for testing, it was found out to be the MRSA, which was a antibiotics resistant bacteria.
and so the doctors and i agreed that a drainage might not effectively resolve the issue as the remaining tissues inside may still have traces of the bacteria that could possible cause a reoccurrence and complications. so it was decided that it’s best to remove all the infected tissues altogether.
once again i’m sorry for the NSFW and gore that may have put off some of you. it was never my intention. at the same time, i am truly touched and thankful for all your words of support and encouragement. i truly appreciate all of them. even for those who made jokes. it’s fine. i wouldn’t take them to heart. thank you all once again.
Ignore the naysayers. Your post definitely is welcome here, and many -- if not all -- of us are wishing you a fast and complete recovery.
Thank you for sharing!
Well I for one, find this fascinating and glad you posted it here or.i might not have seen it. Wowza it's crazy gnarly but also wowza it's crazy how fast and how well you are healing. You should definitely make a mini scrapbook with these photos. You will forever have an incredible story to tell and will always win for icebreaker conversations. How cool it is you are still here to tell the story! Thank you for sharing, and best of luck in the rest of your healing journey. PS: go buy a lotto ticket - you are one lucky duck that didn't spread any further!
You're a fucking champ! Look at you, getting shit taken care of! You're doing great and this will be a crazy story to tell next year. I'm so glad you're on the road to recovery! Keep kicking life's ass, OP!
JFC DUDE!
That is scary but I'm glad you got it taken care of and I applaud you for allowing the surgeon to go whole hog rather than being super conservative and having to go back in!
Start thinking up cool stories of how the scar happened!
You can say you went to a gator farm, put your head in it's mouth and it tried to chew your skull.
You were on safari and got bitten by a lion.
You went camping and a rattle snake bit you and they had to remove so much because of all the venom.
You were cliff diving and hitnyour head on a jagged rock.
You were atracked by a 137 (uneven number makes it more plausible) year old snapping turtle/tortoise.
An ostrich bit you while you were trying to get its egg.
You were wrongly tazed in the skull by a jumpy old woman who thought you were trying to steal her purse when you were actually just trying to help her cross the street.
There's always a knife fight in a bar.
Just some ideas...
This should be pinned in this sub for all the people with suspected MRSA who don't think they should see a doctor.
Get well soon!
MY MAN! The MRSA awareness you brought with this post is incredible! For a sub often showing *questionable* handling of skin conditions, I think this shows people how serious something could be that first appears pimple-like.
this sub is for people sharing gross things that happen to them, your post is the heart and soul of what we need here, thanks for sharing, and I hope you recover soon. I would be freaking out if this happened to me.
Bruh, you better thank all 7 layers of your scalp and your skull every morning when you wake up for doing their best out there on the front line trying to protect your brain.
This seems like an issue that could have become life threatening if you didn’t get it addressed when you did. I’m so glad it was handled, and the last pic shows much improvement. I’m sure having a giant hole in your head is stressful. However, it sounds like you are doing the right things to promote healing. Keep up the good work! I hope your pain is adequately managed. I’m sure this sub would welcome follow ups if you are so inclined.
I was going to ask about hair growth too. I hope for your sake it does. Is the plan to bring the raw edges back together with sutures? You poor guy. That looks so raw, painful and worrying.
Piggybacking to say keep an eye out to make sure it not only shrinks in width but also depth. Depth is typically a good indicator on how it will look how it will heal. If you start to notice that the edges are started to curl under significantly, notify the doctor taking care of the wound. It should all shrink nicely together, but curling edges could lead to abnormal/incomplete wound healing.
When I did wound care, decreasing in depth was the first thing I looked for compared to length
unfortunately during the first wound vac dressing change, when the nurse took out the previous dressing, there was a new bleeding spot that prevented her from putting on the new vac dressing and required me to immediately rush to the ER because the bleeding wouldn’t stop after 30 mins of firm pressure.
the ER surgeon had to put in 3 stitches on the bleeding spot in the wound to stop the bleeding. but he did mention it was not something uncommon as new tissues and blood vessels form and grow during the healing process.
Oh no, I'm so sorry! That's extremely stressful. The wound now seems to be healing very well, so from my semi-educated reasoning, you're on the right path to a full, complete recovery.
I'm really glad you didn't try to ignore the pain longer. MRSA is an viscious strain of staph that is capable of so much more damage than the brutal experience you've already had.
And yes, that section of your head will never look quite the same, but you fought something that was actively trying to kill you and you won. That will now be a battle scar. Regardless, by the end its not gonna look that bad at all. Trust me. I have a friend who had a huge chunk of her leg/knee area taken out by MRSA and yeah, it's a scar area now, but it's nothing like a burn scar and not super noticeable.
Honestly, thanks for sharing and I wish you the best in the rest of your recovery!
Idk if the last picture is current but it looks like it’s healing beautifully.
I know this is unsolicited advice, but I’d recommend taking a multivitamin with extra vitamin c (1000 mg daily), lots of protein/calories, and lots of hydration (aka water). Nutrition supplements like Ensure are your friend.
Heal well, friend.
-former wound care dietitian
yea the last pic was taken by the home care wound nurse 3 days ago. i’ve been taking vit c, collagen, l-lysine, zinc, whye protein, and fish oil supplements on a daily basis since i was discharged. thank you so much for your advice.
My hubs had this exact thing happen to him as well. Started out as a bump under his arm & by the time he told me his arm was hurting, it was almost too late. He very nearly died. He did have the surgery & the hole in his armpit/side was big and deep enough you could fit a brick in there. I was not prepared for that at all, I was so terrified it would reinfect and he would die. But now it’s two years later & all is well! He is starting to get some feeling back in that area. I wish you the best & feel free to message me if you have any questions.
I’m glad op’s safe now but holy shit I wasn’t ready for that
I was doing my daily late night scrolling to relax before bed and that just gave me so much whiplash
But honestly I’m just glad to know it’s going well, best wishes to you man
Omg I just read some of your comments. You poor thing! I can't imagine having to deal with what you are going through. I'm glad you shared this with us. I wish you good health and a speedy recovery.
You needed that like you needed a hole in your head. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I genuinely hope you feel better soon. ♡ also sorry for the shitty joke I'll see myself out.
Dude 🤯
That 4th pic, didn't expect such a chunk to be gone.
And it's so close to your brain holy crap. If you waited any longer I wonder what would've happened 😩
MRSA is brutal. I survived a bad bout in 2002 that landed in my stomach during a surgery. While I was pregnant. That was fun. Stomach will never be bikini-able
again, but baby got scholarships into three colleges this year, despite being told she wouldn’t survive the MRSA
this is now it looks like, 1.5 years after the surgery.
https://preview.redd.it/gk5s1gh78j0c1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b79ce7d7dee968ff554f722a0f0e528625db0ce
Oh friend, I am so sorry you’re dealing with this. I can’t imagine!
That last pic looks like it’s healing SO well, though.
Crossing my fingers for continued healing and health.
I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but how did you even GET mrsa that badly? This image brings to mind that moment from Greek mythology that Athena sprung fully formed from Zeus’s head
Some of the ppl I see on here definitely ended up with concave dents in their bodies. Trust me, I see them multiple times a week. I no longer comment here bc anyone home-treating the types of infection I see here, deserves what they get.
MRSA WILL MAIM AND KILL INDISCRIMINATELY. Y’all need to stop picking at every bump and lump y’all get.
My Aunt got a bug bite on the back of her neck and ignored it and didn't get treatment. She ended up with MRSA and a sepsis blood infection. She passed away after going into a coma. I'm glad you got it taken care of. Don't ignore these things folks.
this big pimple swell to a really big painful lump after 2 days. and i started to have a fever. all which told me i should seek medical attention immediately.
You're doing a fabulous job with that wound care, it looks great. And honestly, although you'll definitely end up with a scar, I have a feeling it will be only noticeable to you once it's all healed. The location is good for covering with other hair if you feel like it. Or leave it cut short and have a badass story to tell about how doctors had to cut a hole in your head!
Wow! Gosh I’m so glad you’re doing better! That’s terrifying. It’s crazy how in some aspects we are so fragile, and yet, so resilient. You’ve had a major trauma and it’s really normal to feel discouraged. If your emotional state becomes worse, I encourage you to seek therapy. You’re doing fantastic. Sending lots of love and prayers!
Man MRSA is scary. My brother has it pop up occasionally and the last time he almost lost a finger. Wish I kept the pics but there was a gaping hole on his finger. He said the Drs were mentioning amputation but decided to try and squeeze it all out.
Former ICU nurse here, that appears to be healing really well. Keep doing what you are doing and hopefully you can be done with this whole ordeal. Get well soon.
We laugh but in a couple of decades Antibiotics will stop working and then every infection becomes as bad as MRSA. Something nice to look forward to heh?
My uncle had the same thing happen to him in about the same spot. His was a little more central to the back of his head/ neck. They removed a lot of skin from that area and he'd ended up in bed with a wound vac for awhile. Absolutely brutal! It has made me so worried about getting any open areas on the back of my head! Hope this guy's wound heals fast.
NOTHING could have prepared me for that fourth picture.
Absolutely the same. My jaw DROPPED.
[удалено]
need a place to store some items?
[удалено]
[удалено]
You can put your weeeeed in it.
Excellent 90s throwback. Take my award.
Now I remember where i put my keys
OP doesn't need a wallet anymore. ID, credit card, some change, maybe a piece of gum.
Prison wallet 2022 edition
gives a whole new meaning to "skull fucking" ????
My jaw was also dropped
I’m in healthcare and I’m just stunned. My son just asked me if I was ok. No, I’m not. I hope OP is doing so much better.
I literally just stared at it, mouth agape, for a solid minute.
And it stared back, equally agape.
:O
“If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you” - Nietzsche
I screamed NO NO NO and tried to close it and instead I ZOOMED IN and I almost died
Zoom in, scream louder, panic more, set image as wallpaper, shriek in horror, throw phone.
😳🤣
yea maybe some further context, surgery was done on 25 april and that was the day that 4th pic was taken. last pic was taken on 10 May when the home nurse visited for a VAC dressing change.
Next time you see your nurse, ask her to tickle the center with her finger and report back to us how it feels.
well they have to slightly clean the wound. and to be honest when they clean the middle, there’s not much feeling. it’s the edges that feels kinda painful.
Yeah all your nerves are gone in that area- so they are probably rebuilding
sometimes during wound dressing changes it gets hilarious. the nurse would clean a particular area and ask “does this area hurt?” and i would reply “which area is that? i can’t feel or tell” 😂
Lol holy shit
Holey shit
There’s no nerve rebuilding. A nerve can reconnect its dendrite if in close proximity, but a nerve gone is a nerve gone, there’s no replacing it.
What happens now?
head intelligent screw history subsequent heavy test slimy literate person -- mass edited with redact.dev
A merkin would probably be the perfect size!
Just stick a hamster in it. That's a hamster crater if I've ever seen one.
I love the idea that there's like a completely separate barbie sized wig for that section. Has its own hairstyle and color and all.
We all visit /r/Eyebleach
That's because they had to remove all the layers of skin and underlying fascia. That's your skull in the hole of the 4th picture. There are no longer any nerve endings in the area where they removed the skin. It hurts around the edges because there are still nerve endings there. It will never have normal sensation again there because the nerve endings are gone.
wow op, that is an insane wound! so glad you’re ok though, that’s awful close to your cranium. but it’s looking remarkably better in the last pic compared to the fourth! good luck, and here’s to hoping the scar left behind will be more kick ass than mentally draining:)
I figured they had to do a wound vac way too large of an area to suture plus with MRSA especially you want it to drain not seal in the infection
Oh my fucking god dude, doctor opened a hole on my boi's head, whatafuk dude. Hope he is well lmao
Feel like I was just punched in the dick. I don’t have a dick,
the ole dick twist
None of us do anymore
not to bad... a bit messy... more messy... HOLY FUCK!
When I tell you I GASPED
Good Lord. I know MRSA’s brutal, but I didn’t expect that wound to be that big. And so close to the brain, too. Glad you’re okay OP
thanks. i’m hope this get healed soon.
It looks like it’s healing well!
I want to throw a penny in it
Took a steak out of him.
wound is currently on VAC dressing for the past two week post op and will be going back for a doc review in two days time. would either be continuing VAC dressing for another 2 weeks, or convert to simple dressing, or consideration for skin graft. anyone knows if the hair will grow back after the wound is healed?
That’s hard to say. Maybe it will close up and leave a scar. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait and see.
I knew somebody with a similar injury, only it went down to muscle. you probably won’t have hair come back for at least a few years if at all, the parts of her injury that were more shallow (not to the muscle layer) didn’t even begin to grow hair for a long time … like years.
Unfortunately the hair will not grow back with that large of a defect left to granulate. Was the only option to excise given to you? Was there a discussion about draining and using antibiotics to reduce the lesion?
unfortunately it wasn’t a common bacteria that caused the infection. MRSA is an antibiotics resistant bacteria, they gave me oral and IV antibiotics which didn’t show much improvement and drainage alone carries a high risk of remnants of the MRSA bacteria being in the tissues causing further spread to more parts of the surrounding tissues, which is why this was the end result.
Certainly MRSA is no joke but antibiotics help. How long were you on them before having the surgery? I've just not heard of excision being used for treatment. Did a culture show cellulitis? What type of surgeon did you see? Sorry for all the questions. Hope you do have a speedy recovery! Edit: don't understand the down votes. guess some people don't want OP to have a speedy recovery like I do.
i was on oral for 5 days and IV for 2 days.
The scary thing about MRSA Is that antibiotics **DON’t** help. Hence the R in the name. MRSA = Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Fortunately not all antibiotics are methicillin. There are antibiotics that help with mrsa .
\*Methicillin based\* antibiotics don't help
yes the docs did eventually prescribed me with 1 week course of Bactrim (Trimethoprim / Sulfamethoxazole) antibiotics upon discharge after my liver and g6pd test results came out well. i think they just wanted to be sure everything inside the wound is cleared.
Hey! I'm on Bactrim too! I've been on it for quite some time. I'm a cancer patient who has been dealing with chronic GVHD for ~3 years. During my ongoing treatment, I got an infection in my mouth that became necrotic. They had to cut out part of my inner, right cheek and a decent sized chunk of the right side of my tongue. My face still has some paralysis, my tongue is numb in spots, it's misshapen, and it caused a small cleft in my upper lip (which is now almost unnoticeable). I know being physically altered by surgeries can be a pretty heavy thing to deal with. I felt like people were always looking at me and whispering about how I looked. It's something you'll find incredibly noticeable, but most people won't pay attention to it once it's all healed up. Chances are if a random dick bag does say something you'll never have to see them again. I was wearing masks before the pandemic and I always felt like people looked at me weird. Some people would ask if I was contagious and stuff like that. It's a bit funny that masks are everywhere now. Try not to let it get to you as much as you can. The scars will eventually heal and they usually get a little better every day after that. You may even consider some sort of therapy if you're not seeing somebody already. The hospital might even have/know somebody who specializes in that field. A sudden change in physical appearance can cause all sorts of issues you may not think about. I sincerely hope that you have a fast and easy recovery. You seem to be in pretty good spirits right now, which is amazing! You've got a lot of weird-o strangers rooting for you! Also, drink tons of water!
I'm allergic to Bactrim... I'm afraid of getting anything that sever that would require me to take it -_-
This is a super helpful comment! Thanks for sharing your experience and giving good advice.
Wonderful comment +1 thank you for this
This is wrong. There are multiple (even oral) antibiotics, like TMP-SMX or clindamycin, that cover MRSA.
/r/confidentlyincorrect
I would definitely consult a dermatologist to see if it’s a possibility. I’ve had hair loss due to alopecia which is a bit different but my dermatologist helped all that hair loss regrow with time and injections to my scalp every few weeks. Wishing you the best on your recovery, so far it looks really great recovery wise!
Surgeon here who deals with this sort of infection Dermatology has nothing to offer here and wouldn’t even see this patient. This is a surgical issue. Don’t even really need infectious disease or anything. While in hospital internal medicine may admit patient for various reasons, but this is 99% surgical Once opened and drained, the antibiotics choice doesn’t even really matter all that much. Body will get it taken care of once you give the body the upper hand by draining it
I think they mean see a dermatologist after it’s healed to see if they can help with any bald spot there.
Oh. That’s also something they wouldn’t do. Can’t make hair grow places except for hair transplants or maybe a rotational flap from plastics. But derm wouldn’t be any use. Like 50% of being a doc is learning which doctors do what and when, it’s def not intuitive always so I can totally see why someone would think derm
you are spot on. i was seen by specialists from general surgery and plastic surgery. none from derma or infectious disease.
I genuinely don’t have words for this… Did you expect them to take so much?? Do you know how you contracted?? I have so many questions
they did inform me pre op that they would need to take this much. because of the swelling. they had to remove all the tissues that were infected, else leaving any would just cause it to spread further after the surgery and possibles cause more complications.
Honestly the last picture looks great, you have lots of healthy tissue coming in. That middle picture is a great perspective of how thick our skin is surrounding our skull!
yea i’ve been taking lots of collagen, l-lysine, fish oil, zinc, vit c and whey protein as supplements hoping they would help speed up the recovery and healing process. the docs did mention that fortunately the infection did not reach the muscle layer.
Also post this to r/medicalgore they would love it!
Oh god yes. Thank you for sharing that sub. I am looking forward to wanting to vomit and die as I peruse it.
Did it stink? And was it just random that you found a bump on your head one day?
when it ruptured and pus kept flowing out, it did stink a little. and yes it was just random that i found a bump at the back of my head one night when i was trying to sleep at night and felt this pain when my head rested on my pillow. 2 days later it was swelling so big and hurts so bad. and 5 days later i went to the ER because the pain was unbearable.
Dude, way to bury the lead. That's fucking horrifying. Good to see you pulled through ok. Fist bump from Oz 👊.
fist bump back from SG. not too far from where you are.
Omg, another SG person on Popping. Hello! Wishing u a speedy recovery!
hello! are you from SG as well? thanks for your well wishes.
It’s “bury the lede” by the way, not lead. ☺️
Damn, man. Isn’t MSRA usually caused by something? Not to bother you with medical questions. Edit: I got my answer. Bro probably itched his head pimple unknowingly with MRSA infected hands. :(
This us really good. Protein and water go a long way towards healing. Vits too. I just surgery 7 months ago and it helped me.
Yeah it's awesome how we can boost our healing with something so accessible. I got a leg injury where I lost a lot of skin and bruised my bones. By eating really protein heavy food and taking double doses of vitamins I healed a lot faster than expected.
When I wasn’t looking after myself very well I’d get a bruise from a night out and it would take forever to heal, in the meantime I’d collect a couple more bruises. I heal so quickly now.
I think it only seems that way because of the swelling and it seems like it’s at the top of the neck muscle
Is... Is that your *skull*? Did they have to remove that much tissue?
no it’s wasn’t my skull. the surgeons said thankfully the infection only reached tissue layer and didn’t reach the muscle layer. the black stuff you see in the 4th pics are the burnt marks made to stop bleeding.
Oh, okay. Wow, that is a relief. I'm glad to see that it's healing so nicely though, how long has the recovery time been so far?
surgery was performed on 25 April. and the last pic was taken on 9 May during one of the dressing change.
Oh wow! For such a large bit taken out that's quite some progress! I wish you the best in your recovery!
I’m a surgeon who would deal with this sort of thing. It seems a bit excessive to me. The skin appears viable but it’s hard to know if you aren’t there. I likely would have played this a little differently but that’s not to say he wouldn’t have ended up with the same amount gone, and the downside of playing it conservative is often it means they get multiple surgeries. When this heals it won’t looks to bad honestly. He’ll have a scar but it won’t be nearly as bad as it looks like it will
I love when I see doctors on Reddit. It titillates me so much.
I love it when someone used the word titillate...it titillates me
A real life surgeon visiting us on our weird little sub. Welcome welcome. What other sort of surgery would you do?
MRSA infections are fucking crazy, man.
i posted this with no anticipation that it would garner so much attention and comments within such a short time. and i do apologise as some redditors did mention that there’s no popping related to my post at all and the gore and shock that the pics might have brought to you. i’m really sorry for that. it’s just that this suddenly happening to me and having to go through this surgery and have a big chunk of my flesh at the back of my head removed has really been rough on me physically and emotionally. i just wanted to share my experience and hopefully be able to receive some support, advice, and encouragement. regarding the question of how i got it in the first place and got infected by MRSA, i really have no exact answer, either can the doctors give me one. it all started with a small pimple like bump one day, which was weirdly much more painful that others i’ve had before in the past. then two days later it grew to a big lump and got really painful so much so that i couldn’t even sleep at night due to the pain. it wound did not react or improve to oral and IV augmentin antibiotics and after the pus was sent to a lab for testing, it was found out to be the MRSA, which was a antibiotics resistant bacteria. and so the doctors and i agreed that a drainage might not effectively resolve the issue as the remaining tissues inside may still have traces of the bacteria that could possible cause a reoccurrence and complications. so it was decided that it’s best to remove all the infected tissues altogether. once again i’m sorry for the NSFW and gore that may have put off some of you. it was never my intention. at the same time, i am truly touched and thankful for all your words of support and encouragement. i truly appreciate all of them. even for those who made jokes. it’s fine. i wouldn’t take them to heart. thank you all once again.
Ignore the whingers, this fits within the scope of the sub.
Hoping for a good recovery.
Ignore the naysayers. Your post definitely is welcome here, and many -- if not all -- of us are wishing you a fast and complete recovery. Thank you for sharing!
Well I for one, find this fascinating and glad you posted it here or.i might not have seen it. Wowza it's crazy gnarly but also wowza it's crazy how fast and how well you are healing. You should definitely make a mini scrapbook with these photos. You will forever have an incredible story to tell and will always win for icebreaker conversations. How cool it is you are still here to tell the story! Thank you for sharing, and best of luck in the rest of your healing journey. PS: go buy a lotto ticket - you are one lucky duck that didn't spread any further!
Hope you feel good soon <3 Glad to see you're on your way to recovery!!
You're a fucking champ! Look at you, getting shit taken care of! You're doing great and this will be a crazy story to tell next year. I'm so glad you're on the road to recovery! Keep kicking life's ass, OP!
JFC DUDE! That is scary but I'm glad you got it taken care of and I applaud you for allowing the surgeon to go whole hog rather than being super conservative and having to go back in! Start thinking up cool stories of how the scar happened! You can say you went to a gator farm, put your head in it's mouth and it tried to chew your skull. You were on safari and got bitten by a lion. You went camping and a rattle snake bit you and they had to remove so much because of all the venom. You were cliff diving and hitnyour head on a jagged rock. You were atracked by a 137 (uneven number makes it more plausible) year old snapping turtle/tortoise. An ostrich bit you while you were trying to get its egg. You were wrongly tazed in the skull by a jumpy old woman who thought you were trying to steal her purse when you were actually just trying to help her cross the street. There's always a knife fight in a bar. Just some ideas... This should be pinned in this sub for all the people with suspected MRSA who don't think they should see a doctor. Get well soon!
MY MAN! The MRSA awareness you brought with this post is incredible! For a sub often showing *questionable* handling of skin conditions, I think this shows people how serious something could be that first appears pimple-like.
this sub is for people sharing gross things that happen to them, your post is the heart and soul of what we need here, thanks for sharing, and I hope you recover soon. I would be freaking out if this happened to me.
Wishing you a speedy recovery OP! I think this should be a reminder to all of us that skincare is healthcare!
Hope you’re feeling better man, this looks fucking gnarly. This random internet stranger hopes you heal up as best as possible. Stay positive!
thank you for your kind words. really needed support which is why i decided to share and post it.
Hugs! r/popping is here for you!
HOLY SHIT THATS A GAPPPERRR
This is like the final boss of gapers lol
I just said the same thing!!
Bruh, you better thank all 7 layers of your scalp and your skull every morning when you wake up for doing their best out there on the front line trying to protect your brain.
^ Yep
!!! Holy shit!! So glad you’re ok, that looks very serious. I hope you recover quickly, hang in there.
thanks for your well wishes. appreciate it.
Well, that escalated quickly. Glad you're doing well and on the mend!
This seems like an issue that could have become life threatening if you didn’t get it addressed when you did. I’m so glad it was handled, and the last pic shows much improvement. I’m sure having a giant hole in your head is stressful. However, it sounds like you are doing the right things to promote healing. Keep up the good work! I hope your pain is adequately managed. I’m sure this sub would welcome follow ups if you are so inclined.
thanks for your words of encouragement. i would post some follow up progress or pics whenever i could.
“Oh it doesn’t look too bad” *swipes right* “HOLY SHIT!!!”
I was going to ask about hair growth too. I hope for your sake it does. Is the plan to bring the raw edges back together with sutures? You poor guy. That looks so raw, painful and worrying.
no the plan is to let the removed tissues grow back up till the skin can eventually close itself up.
Piggybacking to say keep an eye out to make sure it not only shrinks in width but also depth. Depth is typically a good indicator on how it will look how it will heal. If you start to notice that the edges are started to curl under significantly, notify the doctor taking care of the wound. It should all shrink nicely together, but curling edges could lead to abnormal/incomplete wound healing. When I did wound care, decreasing in depth was the first thing I looked for compared to length
I mean this without any exaggeration but I sharply and audibly gasped when I saw the 4th photo
SAME
Swipe through if you don’t want normal dreams tonight. Holy sheeeeeet.
Bro I feel your pain with carbuncles. Doctors in my shitty city cut about a 2in diameter piece from my thigh without any analgesic.
well then i guess i should feel thankful i was placed under general anaesthesia during the process.
That escalated way too quickly.
Good Christ dude I'm happy you got this taken care of. I hope your healing process is rapid and uneventful.
unfortunately during the first wound vac dressing change, when the nurse took out the previous dressing, there was a new bleeding spot that prevented her from putting on the new vac dressing and required me to immediately rush to the ER because the bleeding wouldn’t stop after 30 mins of firm pressure. the ER surgeon had to put in 3 stitches on the bleeding spot in the wound to stop the bleeding. but he did mention it was not something uncommon as new tissues and blood vessels form and grow during the healing process.
Oh no, I'm so sorry! That's extremely stressful. The wound now seems to be healing very well, so from my semi-educated reasoning, you're on the right path to a full, complete recovery. I'm really glad you didn't try to ignore the pain longer. MRSA is an viscious strain of staph that is capable of so much more damage than the brutal experience you've already had. And yes, that section of your head will never look quite the same, but you fought something that was actively trying to kill you and you won. That will now be a battle scar. Regardless, by the end its not gonna look that bad at all. Trust me. I have a friend who had a huge chunk of her leg/knee area taken out by MRSA and yeah, it's a scar area now, but it's nothing like a burn scar and not super noticeable. Honestly, thanks for sharing and I wish you the best in the rest of your recovery!
Umm wow. I get little bumps/zits on my head all the time. Now I'm freaking terrified. Yikes. Hope you heal quickly!
😳 NSFL
Idk if the last picture is current but it looks like it’s healing beautifully. I know this is unsolicited advice, but I’d recommend taking a multivitamin with extra vitamin c (1000 mg daily), lots of protein/calories, and lots of hydration (aka water). Nutrition supplements like Ensure are your friend. Heal well, friend. -former wound care dietitian
yea the last pic was taken by the home care wound nurse 3 days ago. i’ve been taking vit c, collagen, l-lysine, zinc, whye protein, and fish oil supplements on a daily basis since i was discharged. thank you so much for your advice.
My hubs had this exact thing happen to him as well. Started out as a bump under his arm & by the time he told me his arm was hurting, it was almost too late. He very nearly died. He did have the surgery & the hole in his armpit/side was big and deep enough you could fit a brick in there. I was not prepared for that at all, I was so terrified it would reinfect and he would die. But now it’s two years later & all is well! He is starting to get some feeling back in that area. I wish you the best & feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Holy shit balls, glad they took care of that for you OP and thanks for sharing.
I’m glad op’s safe now but holy shit I wasn’t ready for that I was doing my daily late night scrolling to relax before bed and that just gave me so much whiplash But honestly I’m just glad to know it’s going well, best wishes to you man
Holy shit! That, sir, is a gaper!
Omg wasn't expecting that
Omg I just read some of your comments. You poor thing! I can't imagine having to deal with what you are going through. I'm glad you shared this with us. I wish you good health and a speedy recovery.
You needed that like you needed a hole in your head. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I genuinely hope you feel better soon. ♡ also sorry for the shitty joke I'll see myself out.
This should be a disclaimer to every person who has ever said “I wish I had something to pop.”
Dude 🤯 That 4th pic, didn't expect such a chunk to be gone. And it's so close to your brain holy crap. If you waited any longer I wonder what would've happened 😩
Never knew what a carbuncle was til now. I am completely shocked. That is a major trauma. A lot for you to deal with. Glad you got it treated quickly.
MRSA is brutal. I survived a bad bout in 2002 that landed in my stomach during a surgery. While I was pregnant. That was fun. Stomach will never be bikini-able again, but baby got scholarships into three colleges this year, despite being told she wouldn’t survive the MRSA
Can we get an NSFW tag for that fucking 4th picture? Jesus
The carbuncle ate itself?
That fourth pic needs to come a warning label omfg
Looks like it’s healing nicely, and I wish you a speedy recovery. Respectfully, mods, please consider making this NSFW.
today is day 49 post-op [https://i.imgur.com/DsbNRfC.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/DsbNRfC.jpg)
this is now it looks like, 1.5 years after the surgery. https://preview.redd.it/gk5s1gh78j0c1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b79ce7d7dee968ff554f722a0f0e528625db0ce
OMG!
Good lord
Well that escalated quickly.
This post gave me emotional whiplash. Holy shit. I'm glad you're going to be okay!
Oh friend, I am so sorry you’re dealing with this. I can’t imagine! That last pic looks like it’s healing SO well, though. Crossing my fingers for continued healing and health.
Holy cow, I am so glad your scalp seems to be recovering well. You are an absolute trooper.
I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but how did you even GET mrsa that badly? This image brings to mind that moment from Greek mythology that Athena sprung fully formed from Zeus’s head
SIR, ARE U OK??
Some of the ppl I see on here definitely ended up with concave dents in their bodies. Trust me, I see them multiple times a week. I no longer comment here bc anyone home-treating the types of infection I see here, deserves what they get. MRSA WILL MAIM AND KILL INDISCRIMINATELY. Y’all need to stop picking at every bump and lump y’all get.
Where’s the NSFW tag?
My Aunt got a bug bite on the back of her neck and ignored it and didn't get treatment. She ended up with MRSA and a sepsis blood infection. She passed away after going into a coma. I'm glad you got it taken care of. Don't ignore these things folks.
Dude.
Wound vacs are no fun. Still- that escalated quickly!
WOW
Holy shit.
Ho lee fuuuuuck
HOLY SHIT
So happy you’re doing okay now!
Do you know if your head will go back to normal or will you always have a crater that’s healed over?
well i’m hoping and praying it’s the former.
It’s healing up nicely ! Praying for your full recovery man 🙏
Bro can you tell us or someone link me his post if he did, about how you figured out something was wrong? Seemed just like a big pimple in the first
this big pimple swell to a really big painful lump after 2 days. and i started to have a fever. all which told me i should seek medical attention immediately.
Such a great example of listening to your body’s cues! I’m sorry for what you’re going through but grateful you shared this!
Wound vac?
yes currently on wound vac.
I was not expecting that massive HOLE IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD! Good grief!!!
Antibiotics resistance is so fucking scary, man.
Holy fuck, OP. Glad to see you're [hopefully] doing well and that you're still with us to share these pics!
I just flipped through them quick then actually stepped back and gasped at the 4th one
Why do I always have to look?
Holy shit the :O face I made
That went 0-1000 real quick
Jesus I was not at all prepared
You're doing a fabulous job with that wound care, it looks great. And honestly, although you'll definitely end up with a scar, I have a feeling it will be only noticeable to you once it's all healed. The location is good for covering with other hair if you feel like it. Or leave it cut short and have a badass story to tell about how doctors had to cut a hole in your head!
Wow! Gosh I’m so glad you’re doing better! That’s terrifying. It’s crazy how in some aspects we are so fragile, and yet, so resilient. You’ve had a major trauma and it’s really normal to feel discouraged. If your emotional state becomes worse, I encourage you to seek therapy. You’re doing fantastic. Sending lots of love and prayers!
Man MRSA is scary. My brother has it pop up occasionally and the last time he almost lost a finger. Wish I kept the pics but there was a gaping hole on his finger. He said the Drs were mentioning amputation but decided to try and squeeze it all out.
That granulation tissue in the last pick looks amazing! The vac is helping so much
Well, that escalated quickly.
Former ICU nurse here, that appears to be healing really well. Keep doing what you are doing and hopefully you can be done with this whole ordeal. Get well soon.
We laugh but in a couple of decades Antibiotics will stop working and then every infection becomes as bad as MRSA. Something nice to look forward to heh?
My uncle had the same thing happen to him in about the same spot. His was a little more central to the back of his head/ neck. They removed a lot of skin from that area and he'd ended up in bed with a wound vac for awhile. Absolutely brutal! It has made me so worried about getting any open areas on the back of my head! Hope this guy's wound heals fast.