Having a Seton put in for Drainage

[Rob.G]

Ok so I've been getting a fair bit of leakage for months now and have had to wear panytliners for some time, I had a CT Scan not long ago which has shown up a nasty fistula. It's constantly leaking... which I guess is good in the way that I don't get the pain that often goes with having a fistula but it still needs seeing to. So last Friday I saw my Specialist and Surgeon to talk over what they can do and they told me they want to go the Seton Drain route before they go cutting anything open. I'm quite happy to have this done if it will eventually mean I don't need to wear pads day and night.
What I really want to know is what peoples experiences are with a Seton, is it painfull at all? do you easily catch it?
And they told me it can actually start cutting into you if it's pulled too much or something? That bit I don't like the sound of.

 

[beth]

A seton is okay, really. You do catch it occasionally but quickly learn how not to! It's only painful when the knot scratches a wound - my surgeon 'de-roofed' part of the abscess at the same time so has been a bit sensitive in places :eek2:

 

[kello82]

hey rob
i have had bunches of setons, had 3 in at one time even for 3 different fistulas! and ive got one in now in fact.
as far as pain, theyre not bad at all. sometimes they do pull (on their own as your skin is changing and healing) and the knot may poke you in an uncomfortable way, but you can always move it around a little bit and adjust it to relieve whatever feels weird. dont be afraid to touch it! theyre not real fragile or anything.
how is it being placed in you btw? are you going under anesthesia for the procedure? ive always been under, so i cant tell you if the actual procedure is painful or not. but even afterwards i was pretty much pain free (unless they did other drains at the same time, which was typical for me). always up and walking around, didnt really miss a beat from these surgeries.
yeah i catch it sometimes, but like beth said, you learn really quick how not to. just be gentle when your wiping at first! then once you know exactly where it is youll be good.
hmmm i guess it could start cutting you if you pulled too hard, but i think youd have to put quite a lot of pressure on it for it to dig in that much. i dont think that would happen, hasnt happened to me ever! and ive had at least one seton in my butt for the past 3 years lol
good luck with this! if you have any more questions please ask! ive dealt with these little suckers a LOT and can answer probably any question you have!

ooo and tip to help absorb the drainage- keep a small square of gauze tucked in your cheeks! i use 3x3, but im pretty tiny. not sure if bigger people would want a bigger square? haha idk. but doing this GREATLY reduced the number of times i had to change my pad throughout the day. just throw the wet gauze in the trash and put a new one in there. it catchs a lot of the leakage before it hits the pad.

 

[Rob.G]

Hi, thanks for your replies, I feel much more at ease having this done now

 

[s.a.m.]

good threat guys, I find out Thursday if I need to have setons put in, and I have never had them before either.

Kello you mentioned having one in for yrs at a time?? Once you have it initially put in, is it there forever?

 

[kello82]

oh no it doesnt have to be! lol sorry if that scared you s.a.m.

i have had them taken out before too- (fairly simple, they just cut the thread and slip it out. no pain!) but for me always after a few weeks with no drainage system in place to keep the infection open, it would close up and collect again.

sooo thats why i have had them in for so long.

 

[danman]

The surgeons looked to see if they could put in Setons into my wounds the last time I was in for surgery, but I'd had 4 weeks of Pred at that stage, so the openings had closed. So I didn't need them.

But they seem like great idea, I wish I'd had ones put in before.