You are more than welcome to skip the 2 week appointment if you wish. For our regional patients, or those who can’t get to our office easily, the wound dressing can be safely changed yourself. This usually occurs somewhere around the 2-3 week mark. If you are doing this yourself, leaving it until the 3 week mark is more desirable as long as the dressing you have on has remained dry inside. It is a waterproof dressing, but we do not want to leave it on if water or fluid has got in underneath and caused the wound to be wet.
Can I get my new Hypafix dressing wet
Yes! Please have a normal shower. Just pat it dry, don’t rub it dry after your shower. Try to leave it on for at LEAST 3-5 days after putting it on. It can last a lot longer, and don’t worry – it’s designed to stay on for as long as you can tolerate it for.
It's been a long time and my hypafix dressing is still on. What do I do?
I would recommend that if it is still on after being on for 2 weeks, then just remove it. It won’t be doing a great deal then anyway. Its main purpose it to make the scar nice and slim, and to protect the wound against abrasion from underwear or clothes.
There is a boggy feeling to the soft tissue in front of my knee cap
This is very normal. The incision is based on the lateral side of your knee, but the internal, or medial aspect of your wound is where I enter into the knee joint. Often the medial side is more uncomfortable than the lateral side where the scar is. The fluid sometimes builds up under the skin and can be a boggy sensation for a few weeks. It will disappear on its own and you do not need to do anything at all.
There is fluid coming out of my wound.
If you still have some erudite coming out of your wound, then PLEASE let me know, and send me a photo. In most cases, it is nothing more than a bit of serous fluid, but I like to see them if it occurs.
When can I swim, bath or go into the ocean.
4 weeks post op. Please don’t go in any earlier than that. We are waiting for a full seal of the wound to avoid infections getting in. This includes hydrotherapy.