Friday, October 17, 2008

Abscess from HELL


I had a lady come in complaining of pain in her butt. Literally. She said that it hurt to sit and it felt like there was a pimple there that was pushing out other tissue. Sure enough there was a giant abscess and was right in the middle of her butt. In case you're wondering what it looked like, here's a picture of an abscess on a leg. Imagine that on your bum. Ouch. I was surprised as hell when one of the docs (who knows I’m a complete newbie) asked me to assist during the I&D but nonetheless jumped at the chance to see something gory and bloody. I was not disappointed. When the doc made the first incision, I gasped at the amount of pus that started to gush out of the abscess. I think it had to be about 50 cc. I haven’t consulted literature regarding average pus volumes in abscesses but that seemed like a lot. Apparently this woman had a history of abscesses in that region. Trying to critically think about why that could be, I started talking to her and found out that she used harsh soaps and scrubbed extra hard to “get rid of the bacteria”. Poor woman – she just kept breaking down her skin and letting the bacteria get in. Moral of the story; be kind to your behind.


3 comments:

Erin said...

All I can say to that is EWWWW! Was the photo really necessary?!

Anonymous said...

Great photo!!

Unknown said...

Apparently this woman had a history of abscesses in that region. Trying to critically think about why that could be, I started talking to her and found out that buy kamagra gel she used harsh soaps and scrubbed extra hard to “get rid of the bacteria”. Poor woman – she just kept breaking down her skin and letting the bacteria get in. Moral of the story; be kind to your behind.