Swelling

Incidence and Timing

We used the search term “swelling” to find all postings related to swelling of the tissue around the stoma. There were several posts, not included in this data, that were from respondents who had posted about swelling in the first several days immediately after OI surgery. These were not included as swelling immediately after surgery is a regular experience and was expected by many of the group members.

The duration of time since OI surgery was reported by 15 of the 20 respondents, with a median time of 17 weeks post-surgery (range: 1 week – 130 weeks).  Most swelling was reported to have occurred in the first 5 months post-OI.

Symptoms

All respondents reported swelling in their amputated limb, with the majority of respondents indicating distal swelling near the stoma. Many explanations were given for the swelling, including trauma from falling, physiotherapy, and too much activity. One respondent reported experiencing swelling due to venous stasis, and another reported their residual limb swelling a lot when it was hot out.

What People Have Tried

Many of the treatments for the swelling that were listed by respondents had to do with what caused the swelling. For example, if the swelling was near the date of the OI surgery, many of the respondents indicated rest and following the prescribed exercise regimen from their healthcare providers. If the swelling was from excessive exercise or trauma, the respondents indicated they rested the limb to let it heal and used ice to reduce swelling. Some respondents said they would elevate the limb, rest the limb, or use heat. Elastic tube bandages were also used in many of the instances of swelling. Massaging of lymph nodes to reduce swelling in the limb was also listed as a treatment in several instances. One respondent indicated that swelling of the limb occurred anytime air travel for vacations took place due to pressure differences, for which naproxen, tube bandages, Motrin, Epsom salts, and curcumin were used to reduce swelling.

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