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Surgery of any kind can bring on a host of emotions. Have you had surgery? What did you experience? Are you considering surgery and looking for tips from others who have gone through it? Share your experience, ask questions, swap tips, provide support.

  1. I have had 3 surgeries. 2 was an incision & drainage on my underarms where the wound was packed & the 3rd was for a perianal fistula that developed due to my recurring perianal abscesses. Due to my fistula I will need several more surgeries over the months/years. It can be tough & scary to go through these procedures but this community makes me feel so validated & less alone! So for that thanks guys!!

    1. I have had several surgeries - 3 that were wide skin excision and two that were done with CO2 laser skin removal. I was really hesitant to have surgery. It wasn't a guarantee to improve my HS and it is an extensive process. I think that is why I started with doing the CO2 laser procedures. It was less invasive. And it worked, to an extent. I had this procedure done on my armpit and thigh. It worked well in my armpit. It took months to heal but my HS has improved. Unfortunately, the local anesthetic did not last long enough to get all of the damaged skin on my thigh. So when I went back for wide skin excision, I had to have surgery on my thigh again. I also had surgery on my abdomen with general anesthetic. That was the easiest surgery. My surgeon was able to stitch the entire wound and it healed quickly. The surgeries on my armpit and thighs were more extensive. A general surgeon did the excision and a plastic surgeon focused on the wound healing. All of these surgeries were pretty hard. I wish I had had more support emotionally and mentally. If I were to do it again, I would make sure I had more support set up for my mental health.

      1. I've had three surgeries, all for my armpits. The first was for both at the same time (yikes), the second surgery was for my left armpit, and the third was for my right armpit. My first surgery was horrible and the doctor refused to put me on antibiotics afterwards and the wounds just wouldn't heal and it took about 3 months before I finally could move my arms without pain or bleeding or draining.

        I went to a different doctor for my second and third surgeries and he was so much better and it took only like a month and half for each armpit to heal and me be able to move around easily.

        It's so hard, but the fastest way to heal for me is to not move around too much. The armpits are such an awkward area so moving the arms too much makes the wound stretch and pull. It's like a vicious cycle of waiting for the wounds to close up and then moving around and having it open again and waiting for it to close again.

        Also, medical tape is the devil. Paper or cloth, it still hurts! I've found trying to soak the tape with a wash cloth beforehand can help it come off a little easier.

        1. Medical tape IS the devil! It made my skin raw and itchy. I did wound dressings for a long time before I learned that you can get adhesive removal swabs for bandages and it made a huge difference. The wash cloth tip is good too, it is definitely soothing!

        2. I will have to look for those removal swabs!! I had no idea!! Thank you so much for the tip! 😁

      2. I have had 7! 😅
        The first one was really hard. I wasn't mentally prepared, and I ended up having a depression crisis. When I had the others, I was so tired of being in pain, that I said to myself... "Ok, Let's give this a chance, Let's try everything possible for me to recover my life". It was a long and hard process, but since I was in a better state of mind, everything was better. I still have flares, but having the surgeries was the best choice for me at that moment.

        1. Thank you for sharing your story with us <3 We're glad to hear that you've at least found some help through surgery! I too have had good and bad surgery experiences. It seems like such a toss up. I also feel like the better of a mental space I am in the better my recovery goes!

        2. I am so glad that you are in a better place. It can be scary to go under the knife but I’m glad it paid off. Thanks for sharing!! - Rebecca 💜

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