Liver Abscess after resection

[kandj]

DH has been in the hospital (in our home state, not at MSKCC) since early Thursday. He was diagnosed with a liver abscess. My research says the proper term is Pyogenic Liver Abscess. Blood cultures came back negative. They did drain it and put in a drain after Dr. D gave the ok from MSKCC, and what has come out is pretty foul. So far the cultures from that are also negative. But, he had been on antibiotics for 48 hrs before they drained it.

Anyone have an experience with this following liver resection? I am kicking myself for not insisting he got to urgent care when we were in NYC for the side pain he had. He chalked it up to incision pain. He only went in here because he had a temp. Thank God we caught it before it could go septic. He was supposed to go to NYC tomorrow for a CT and FUDR Wednesday, but that obviously won't happen now. Any idea when they will resume chemo? He is still on IV antibiotics but the hope is he can go home tomorrow on orals. Which would be good, because I think the hospital is really getting to him. This is such a downer for him after such a successful surgery.

[juliej]

I believe my liver surgeon said abscesses occur in about 10% of liver resections. It's good you caught it in time though because, like you noted, they can get life-threatening. The drainage bag is a pain, but it will help clear the gunk out of the liver. The antibiotics should clear up the infection, but it will take time for the liver to heal.

Keep track of the amount in the drainage bag. The amount will decrease as the abscess heals. They will need to skip the FUDR until this is cleared up. But he can have a CT scan - no problem there. Remember he'll need saline in the pump if he isn't getting FUDR. You should make arrangements for that as soon as possible.

I am so sorry this happened. Try to think of it as a small bump in the road to NEDville!

[kandj]

Remember he'll need saline in the pump if he isn't getting FUDR. You should make arrangements for that as soon as possible.

I am so sorry this happened. Try to think of it as a small bump in the road to NEDville!

He luckily has Glycerol in the pump. So he so good on that till mid July. The drain output has really eased up. Hoping they pull it soon. DH hates it! Rightfully so. We cancelled everything in Ny for this week, since he is in the hospital. Hopefully he can go next week if given the all clear. No point just going for a CT though. And I agree about the little bump. It was a terrifying bump. I have read these abscesses are almost always fatal if not treated. Thank God I felt his forehead Wednesday night and thank god he spoke up instead of trying to toughen through it. He is an incredible man and it kills me to see him going through this.

[HopeForJesse]

Sorry to hear of this scary delay here but so glad your angels were watching and got your DH where he needed to be for immediate help. Extra prayers for speedy recovery so DH can be back on the treatment plans ASAP. Hugs!

[crazylife]

Hope DH is on the mend soon! Scary stuff but glad it's being taken care of.

[kandj]

still in the hospital. The lab lost the original fluid specimen! I can't even tell you how pissed I am. They took another sample from the drain and it has preliminarily come back positive even though DH has been on antibiotics for 6 days. So hopefully they can pinpoint his antibiotics better now.

[mariane]

I am so sorry kandj that DH has to go through all this. I pray they will choose the right antibiotics this time and he will get better soon. Sometimes infection and fever trigger immune system to respond and kill microscopic cancer. I think you do not need to worry too much about chemo gap. I had surgery 2 days earlier than your DH and Dr K wants to see me on June 27th. I once talked with her about 1-2 weeks chemo delay and she assured me it would not change the outcome. Stay strong!

[HopeForJesse]

still in the hospital. The lab lost the original fluid specimen! I can't even tell you how pissed I am. They took another sample from the drain and it has preliminarily come back positive even though DH has been on antibiotics for 6 days. So hopefully they can pinpoint his antibiotics better now.

Just checking in -home from the hospital ok now?

[kandj]

still in the hospital. The lab lost the original fluid specimen! I can't even tell you how pissed I am. They took another sample from the drain and it has preliminarily come back positive even though DH has been on antibiotics for 6 days. So hopefully they can pinpoint his antibiotics better now.

Just checking in -home from the hospital ok now?

Yep. came home Thursday. He stayed in longer with this than either of his surgeries! Crazy. No word on the actual bacteria, so it is just IV antibiotics until the ID doc says no more. 3 times a day via his port. We both learned how to flush it and administer the antibiotics, so thankfully he is home and today he started working from home. Gave him some sanity back.

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm so sorry that your DH is going through this!*hugs* I'm glad he's at home and hope the antibiotics kick in soon!*hugs*

[HopeForJesse]

So glad to hear he made it home for Father's Day!

[kandj]

So glad to hear he made it home for Father's Day!

Me too. Our youngest son had his 6th birthday the day daddy got home. We held off on cake until DH and I got back at 9 and the smile on our sons' face said it all. He had wished for daddy to be home for his birthday and he got his wish. We did a joint Father's Day and birthday dinner of prime rib for both of them on Sunday. It was a good weekend.

DH met with the ID doc yesterday and he said If blood work was good yesterday and next week they will switch him to oral antibiotics and hopefully he can resume chemo. So good news thy things are progressing. The drain will stay in for a while. Better safe than sorry on that front.

[HopeForJesse]

That is great to hear he got his birthday wish!

[Pyro]

How did he know he had an issue? I'm 2 month from my surgery and I have either a hernia or abscess above my scar, above my liver. I have a scan on Wed. for it, no pain, just annoying.