Are there other treatments to heal a donor site?
July 12, 2010 by admin
Filed under Infection Male Yeast
19yr. old male burned in house fire, 3-19-09. Right lateral chest wall donor site won’t heal. Current treatment: Mepilex dressing with silver change every 7 days. Previous treatment was daily shower and regular mepilex dressings,bacitracin,triple antibiotic ointment were also included. Skin or flesh is pink and visible to the tiny veins underneath. Drainage with every dressing change. Painful open to air and the lightest touch. Unbearable now even with lidocaine.
Infections within the first month: MRSA and recently yeast. The same treatments are not working and skin grafts also on scapula’s and below on back get the same treatments that only take the skin off and cause scattered open areas.
Which form of mepilex (besides with silver) are you using?
A lot of burn or or even donor sites are treated with a mepilex that that requires it to be a least damp with normal saline…..is this what you are using? Are you making sure it is damp? Your treatment sounds about "common place" for others with burns and donor sites. The previous infections can lengthen healing time…have you been cultured to ensure they are actually resolved?
Honestly, nine months sounds like a really long time for donor sites to go without healing…depending, of course, on how deep they went. But then again, I have seen wounds of all types take up to 18mo to 2 years to heal…depending on site, depth, and other health conditions.
I would suggest you bring this up with you doctor on your next visit, and MAKE SURE he KNOWS this is CAUSING you CONCERN. ASk the questions, make him give you the answers…..and it never hurt to have a second opinion if you think somethign is really wrong.