Why you may want to read this article
This is a continuation of my previous article about my experience with appendicitis in Prague’s hospital.
We will discuss complications that happened after the first surgery, how the second surgery occurred, and why it happened. We will analyze medical documentation, my thoughts, symptoms, recovery path, feedback, and overall experience.
Second surgery - complication surgery
A short summary of my previous article about appendicitis:
I got appendectomy surgery on 26.12.2022. I was recovering, everything was fine, and I followed the recommendations.
Periodically, I felt burning pain in the belly (under the wound). The wound itself didn’t hurt. For sure, any belly contraction was forbidden, moreover, any minimal contraction brought pain, I couldn’t cough because of the pain. But it is expected.
In my medical report, I should have come on 03.01.2023 for a check-up…
02.01.2023
In the evening, from 18:00 I started feeling an increased burning pain in the belly under the wound.
This is my symptom diary for this day.
These days I use much better symptom tracker Symptom Diary, that can track all the pains, symptoms, medications, food, and sport activities. It is much better health diary than just plain notes.
03.01.2023
By coincidence, on that day I had planned a check-up at the same hospital where I should be coming in case of getting worse. I was getting worse, so I even took a painkiller (it is really rare for me).
In the morning I was in the my hospital “Nemocnice na Homolce”. I was there with my friend (for translation purposes) because I really didn’t feel well.
First I come to reception and showed the report where it is highlighted and written that I should come for a regular check-up today.
The nurse didn’t read the document at all (lol) and started asking questions and stuff. I didn’t understand them much, cause it is in Czech. My friend told her that I don’t feel myself well
At some point, she told me that the doctor is off today, and sent me for a blood test.
When I was back, another nurse in the reception told me that the doctor is ACTUALLY working today, and that she will call me from the waiting area.
Doctor took a look at me, the wound seemed to be good, but I felt burning pain inside the belly under the wound that was lasting from the previous evening.
It was decided to make a Computed Tomography (CT) Scan of the low belly to understand what is going on.
After 1 hour of waiting I got CT scan.
This is CT scan report:
It says that there is some free fluid in the pelvic.
From the doctor’s report:
This document says that I have 200 ml of some free fluid for no reason. And I need one more surgery to take this fluid out. Diagnose sounds like Infekce po vykonu nezarazena jinde. I got this diagnosis in the classification database, it translates as Infection following a procedure
On top of that, I would like to point your attention that chronologically this document states that I had flegmonogangrenozni appendicitis which we discussed in the previous article.
1 hour later, after getting the CT scan results, I was laying at the surgery table getting my 5th full anesthesia in my life.
For historical purposes, leaving the details from my health diary here:
When I woke up (I guess about 17:00) - I realized there are 2 more holes inside me, from one of them I saw surgical drainage. I guess I had it so that any new liquid could find its way out of my body.
The pretty same feeling in the belly, not possible to contract it, any cough produces pretty strong pain.
I’m sorry for these details, but they might be important for you to understand the situation.
In a few hours, I started feeling some pain inside my bladder and guts for some reason. Nurses told me I should go to the toilet at least once during the night. I did it twice but not enough fluid-wise.
04.01.2023
Point 1
At about 03:00 AM it was decided to put in a catheter. This process was pretty uncomfortable and painful a little. Once done more liquid started to go out of me.
But after the catheter was inserted I started feeling even more pain in the bladder and guts.
I slept a little. In the morning when I woke up I started feeling pretty strong pain in the bladder. The painkillers I was getting into my vein by that time didn’t help much.
At about 11:30 AM I was asking a nurse to get the catheter out because the bladder hurt so much. The removal was pretty painful as well. After that, the pain in the bladder decreased a little. It was very painful to go to the toilet after that for the next 2-3 days.
I am not sure it was worth it to put it in for 9+-
In the evening I had 37.5 degrees of fever.
During the day I was getting some painkillers.
05.01.2023
The left wound with drainage started bleeding, so the doctor added 1 more suture to it.
This day I got 1 ultrasound check with blood tests, I insisted because of the pain inside the belly.
Today I started eating eventually, didn’t have an appetite before.
Again had a fever of 37.5 degrees. I was gotten painkillers and antipyretics.
06.01.2023
This morning it became worse, the pus started secreting from my appendicitis wound (right one). The doctor cut one or two sutures and started cleaning the wound. Then the doctor left antiseptic tissue inside the wound. It was not the best procedure, but it was not as painful as I expected. They got the liquid from the wound for microbiology tests to know what infection was there.
Later on, the results of the microbiology of the liquid that was taken out during the complication surgery were ready. They stated that this is just a free liquid without signs of infection or inflammation.
The latest ultrasound showed a little liquid left inside the belly.
Point 2
I asked the doctor, if maybe we could start an antibiotics course, after I saw pus in my appendectomy wound, seems that there is some infection. The doctor explained that not every infection requires antibiotics and for now, they are not needed in my case. On top of that, the reason was that the microbiology test was not ready to pick up the right antibiotic. This move I really like.
07.01.2023-09.01.2023
During those days nothing much happened, doctor was cleaning the wound each morning, I was getting painkillers (my fever seems to be decreased), and the pain in my bladder periodically returned it was still pretty strong. For sure, there still was periodic pain inside the belly where the surgery happened.
On 09.01.2023 - the doctor removed the drainage. I realized that my strong pain was caused by this tube inside me. After it was removed - the pain and discomfort completely disappeared from the bladder.
Point 4
I was pretty afraid of removing the drainage from my belly because to this day there was still liquid going out of my by the tube. My intuition told me, that if there is still some liquid produced, we need to wait until it stops being produced. In the end I was wrong, nothing bad happened after the removal.
After removing I looked like this 
Point 5
I asked about the shower because the appendectomy wound was opened and cleaned every day by the doctor, I assumed it is not allowed to wash it. But I was told that I can wash it with water without soup. This was suspicious, other surgeons from Ukraine told me that I must not wash it at all. So I decided to play safely and didn’t wash it at all until it is fully healed.
10.01.2023
This day I was asked whether I want to go home or not. I decided to go home because I was just laying on the bed, taking some painkillers periodically.
I was driven home by an emergency car. The doctor instructed me the same way as after appendectomy: some diet, no physical activity, and rest.
Starting from this point I had 5 more regular checkups once per 4-7 days on-site. They mostly were needed to check the right wound that had started secreting pus on 06.01.2023.
My surgeons’ recommendation
Since I got 1 complication surgery, and then the pus started secreting from the appendectomy I started to doubt that something went wrong. I was afraid, there was almost nobody here to ask for help, so I asked for recommendations from the surgeons and doctors that I know from Ukraine. 2 out of 3 told me that I should have got the antibiotics course in case of flegmonogangrenozni appendicitis at the first place.
In the end, I decided to follow the recommendation of my surgeon from Ukraine to take 1 course of antibiotics. I was recommended to use Ornidazole, and I did it. I asked friends to get it from Ukraine and deliver it to me in Prague.
To be honest I’m not sure whether I did the right decision or not, I was afraid of getting additional complications.
Story end: Conclusion and results
Day by day I felt better and better. On 14.02.2023 I was told that I can do drums and slight exercises in general. Lifting will be allowed after half a year roughly.
I still don’t know why I got that complication, and why there was free liquid inside the belly after appendectomy without signs of inflammation and infection. I didn’t know what happened with the appendectomy wound after the second surgery and why it started secreting the pus.
Anyway, I really would like to thank all the doctors that were really patient with me and my questions/suspicions. Overall experience with interacting with the people inside this clinic was good - they were really kind to me.
If somebody is interested in the financial part of this situation - everything was covered by VZP. I had sick leave starting from 26.12.2022 till 14.02.2023 at Microsoft without any questions.
If you have any questions - let me know on my Instagram or Telegram.
IMPORTANT - before following the link - make sure you are 18+ and your are mentally strong, there is going to be wound photos.
The chronology of healing here.