any docs? or med students here?

[daywane]

have a foot removed or not?
staff infection is back. ( open wound)
( father in law is patient) VA hospital.
been able to contain it for 25 years
opened again about 1 month ago. VA is leaving option to cut off foot to him.
will wound close? most likely not.
as soon as they can cut it off is 1 month from now.

history
fell off roof and shattered ankle ( 1977)
15 surgeries and a fused ankle ( body rejected metal pins)
got staff in hospital. cipro has kept it in check for a long time now. ( VA changed it 1 yr ago to bactrom, now going to viox (I do not under stand the change of cipro , it worked fine for years)
he is 70 yrs old ( in Oct) his bad leg is 3" shorter then the other.
this hurts his hip often.

I advise take it...

He asked me to check around.... 1st stop here.

[SirPeale]

Need some medical history first.

1) is he diabetic?

2) on any other medications than the antibiotics?  And did you say that he'd been taking them for over 20 years?

3) Weight?

4) smokes?

[daywane]

Need some medical history first.

1) is he diabetic?

2) on any other medications than the antibiotics?

[SirPeale]

One thing I can suggest is an improvment in his diet.  Boost fresh veggie content dramatically, and drink lots of water.  It'll help with his weight, and may even help with his diabetes.

As for the antibiotics, such prolonged exposure may be keeping whatever infection is in his leg in check, but is likely hampering the bodies natural bacterias.  Look into acidpholus (sp) suppliments.

It's good that he quit smoking.  Does he do any breathing exercises?  The best one I know is to inhale as deep as you can thru your nose, hold it for ten seconds, then exhale slowly thru your mouth.

Finally, regarding the leg itself, how much exercise does he get on it?  Increasing blood flow dramatically to the region can help with the healing process.  I don't know how difficult walking is for him, but some 'fast hard walking' is one of the best exercises for the legs.  I mean swinging the arms and really getting the legs going.  This particular exercise will start building new blood vessels in his legs immediately, but will take about a month to see any noticable effect.  But this is truly worth it, esp. if the alternative is chopping off his leg!  At first he may not be able to do any great distance, but every day he will gain a little more stamina.

All these things will require a lifestyle change, but if he values the quality of his life, these are things he should consider.  It *will* be painful (well, except the eating better part, although cutting down bad foods can be difficult) but the results far outweigh the alternative.

[daywane]

food
that's a fight.... loves veggies... we grow a large garden every year
he just eats more than his share

[SirPeale]

The biggest issue so he won't lose his leg is the walking.  He's got to do some strenuous exercise to let his body build up the blood supply to his legs.  That's part of the problem with the wound not healing: the tissue can't heal, because it's not getting what it needs to repair itself.

[daywane]

if it was not staff. I would think swimming.
do not want to pass on this to others

[SirPeale]

Walking is his *best* bet for keeping that leg.  Failing that, some strength training might help.

[mpm32]

Hyperbaric Chamber therapy?  Has this been dicussed?

[daywane]

no it has not.
come to find out now ... Its in the bone.
he has decided to have it taken off

[SirPeale]

got staff in hospital. cipro has kept it in check for a long time now. ( VA changed it 1 yr ago to bactrom, now going to viox (I do not under stand the change of cipro , it worked fine for years)
he is 70 yrs old ( in Oct) his bad leg is 3" shorter then the other.

I know this is an old post, but I know now why they changed his antibiotic.

Cipro is an antibiotic with a rather lengthy list of side effects.  Due to your fathers age they were changing to to avoid possibly killing him.  It's especially troublesome in older patients.

[boykster]

got staff in hospital. cipro has kept it in check for a long time now. ( VA changed it 1 yr ago to bactrom, now going to viox (I do not under stand the change of cipro , it worked fine for years)
he is 70 yrs old ( in Oct) his bad leg is 3" shorter then the other.

I know this is an old post, but I know now why they changed his antibiotic.

Cipro is an antibiotic with a rather lengthy list of side effects.  Due to your fathers age they were changing to to avoid possibly killing him.  It's especially troublesome in older patients.

i also know this is an old post, but yes, cipro is not really intended for long term usage.  Also, most likely the cipro was only able to manage the infection, but not eliminate it.  Unfortunately, what that does is it will select for a very resilient strain of Staph that will be almost impossible to be rid of.

No, I'm not a physician, but I have a lot of experience with drug resistant bacteria.  Screening novel anti-infective agents (drug candidates) against MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staph Aureus) is a very common test for activity...