Flap Fiasco

On Monday I was concerned enough about the state of my flap to call the doctor’s office The nurse gave me a script for antibiotics over the phone. But I decided if it really was infected it should be looked at and maybe have a culture taken. The doctor said everything was normal and there wasn’t anything to worry about. When I mentioned the continued oozing and the odor and the pain, he said all was normal. They took a sample to culture and in a few days I will know if I have an infection or not, but I’m taking the antibiotics anyway.

That night I removed the bandage covering my flap to clean the area and apply the recommended Vaseline. I was very careful and gentle. I applied alcohol (the rubbing kind, not Stolichnaya) to loosen the tape that holds the non-adhesive pad in place. The tape gave way easily, but the pad kind of stuck to the flap. I gave slight tug and suddenly the connection between flap and nose tip was severed. Time to panic…

There was no pain and no blood and the upper end of the flap was still attached to the bridge of my nose, but the rest of it was swinging freely, similar to another, much more enjoyable appendage somewhere south of the now flapping flap. An emergency call to the doctor’s cell phone produced instructions: bandage it in place and come to the office the next morning, He gave me his cell phone number right after the first surgery back on December 28. Perhaps he knew something about the likelihood of necessary ‘redo’s’ with this procedure that I didn’t.

I went in and he reattached the flap to the tip of my nose. It sounds so easy. It isn’t. Numbing needles which really sting, followed by more stitches. Recall that the December 28 procedure produced uncontrolled bleeding and about 1/3 of it had to be redone that same afternoon. And now this.

The cause of the flapping flap is unclear. Was it my fault for carelessly removing the bandage? The nurse said not so. One MD friend says that if I have an infection it could weaken the stitches. The dermatologist said that was not correct, and that I didn’t have an infection anyway, although the culture is pending. I’m still going to take the pills.

Since I have a new wound with stitches, I have been ordered not to exercise at all until the flap is scheduled to be removed (on purpose this time) on January 19. That will entail another couple of weeks on not riding while those wounds heal. I might get back on my bikes in February.

The last time I rode my bike on the road was December 26. I got cleared to exercise on January 5 and I did 4 indoor cycling rides. That’s going to be all for January.

Oh yes, our 40th anniversary is this Friday. We were planning a getaway with an ocean and a fireplace and Veuve Clicquot. Another failure thanks to the flap.