Tim Little Photography wrote:
Would those of you who believe in good karma or positive vibes or God or just good thoughts favor me with a kind thought around that time of day please.

It is easy peezy surgery. I'm having skin grafts on  a pretty large area of my lower right leg. The skin will be harvested from my right thigh.

I have had this done before several times to say the least. They always fail due to blood flow (venous stasis being the medical term).

The tough part is the area where they take the skin, the donor harvest site will be a 2nd degree burn. I have a large mess on my leg so the donor site will be big and extremely painful for a couple of weeks.

I've had this done lots of times. I have to confess I am getting worn out by it all. So, prayers and kind thoughts will really help me deal right now and during the recovery.

Thank you so much!

Tim

P.S.  I know there are some people have the opinion "pictures or it isn't real". I have some pictures from when the leg was a little better than it is now in my Flickr account. They are gross so I won't post a direct link. But anyone who feels they need to see what I'm dealing with can message me and I will PM the link.

Thank you all for your emotional support, I love you guys!

Tim,

Back in the 80's after I got out of the military I went to work in the oilfield industry.

Long story short, I managed to burn my right leg to the bone from the knee to the ankle in an oilfield related industrial accident.

They wanted to amputate however there was a process that could save the leg that my specialist knew about and well it saved my leg.

It is a graft process that uses pig skin.

I went thru a huge process before they could even do the skin graft. I was in the hospital for 8 months before they could even do the graft.

The skin was also harvested from my right thigh however they also had to use pig skin (which is compatiable with human skin) in order not to have to take skin from anywhere else on my body except from my right thigh.

Not sure what your injury is on your right leg however I am assuming it was also a intense burn or something similair. .

If they keep having trouble with the skin from your thigh, blod circulation issues or the graft not taking you might want to consult with them or a specialist concerning the use of pig skin on humans for grafts.

When I had it done it was in the experimental stage therefore my doctor went over everything very well with me. Now it is common place to use pig skin along with human skin for grafts esp on severe burned areas.

The prochedure was a success and almost 30 years later one can never tell that I had severely burned my lower leg to the bone. I have never had a problem with the leg. One would never know such a thing happened to me except when they see the scar.

I do have the occasional blood flow (circulation) problem however that is common with sever burns. Esp in my case where they had to reconstruct alot of the things that are blood related.

I inline skate, snowboard, run, jump, climb and well the leg functions just as well as my left leg.

So just a suggestion, might want to check into the pig skin prochedure if they keep having problems.

My thoughts are with you from one person who has gone thru what you have. hang in there. Stay positive. The advancements in medical science are astounding.

I would have never thought that pig skin is so close a match to human skin until my specialist wanted to do such a thing.

Micyl Sweeney wrote:

Tim,

Back in the 80's after I got out of the military I went to work in the oilfield industry.

Long story short, I managed to burn my right leg to the bone from the knee to the ankle in an oilfield related industrial accident.

They wanted to amputate however there was a process that could save the leg that my specialist knew about and well it saved my leg.

It is a graft process that uses pig skin.

I went thru a huge process before they could even do the skin graft. I was in the hospital for 8 months before they could even do the graft.

The skin was also harvested from my right thigh however they also had to use pig skin (which is compatiable with human skin) in order not to have to take skin from anywhere else on my body except from my right thigh.

Not sure what your injury is on your right leg however I am assuming it was also a intense burn or something similair. .

If they keep having trouble with the skin from your thigh, blod circulation issues or the graft not taking you might want to consult with them or a specialist concerning the use of pig skin on humans for grafts.

When I had it done it was in the experimental stage therefore my doctor went over everything very well with me. Now it is common place to use pig skin along with human skin for grafts esp on severe burned areas.

The prochedure was a success and almost 30 years later one can never tell that I had severely burned my lower leg to the bone. I have never had a problem with the leg. One would never know such a thing happened to me except when they see the scar.

I do have the occasional blood flow (circulation) problem however that is common with sever burns. Esp in my case where they had to reconstruct alot of the things that are blood related.

I inline skate, snowboard, run, jump, climb and well the leg functions just as well as my left leg.

So just a suggestion, might want to check into the pig skin prochedure if they keep having problems.

My thoughts are with you from one person who has gone thru what you have. hang in there. Stay positive. The advancements in medical science are astounding.

I would have never thought that pig skin is so close a match to human skin until my specialist wanted to do such a thing.

Hi Micyl!

I know pig skin very well. The prep work they did for this surgery included a pig skin graft a few weeks ago. In my case the body rejects it at some point but that's fine. In the mean time nerve endings and tiny blood vessels start growing. Also, and does this happen to you? When I get around pulled pork  BBQ I get so horny it's embarrassing!!

Tim Little Photography wrote:
Also, and does this happen to you? When I get around pulled pork  BBQ I get so horny it's embarrassing!!

Movies such as Babe and tv shows such as Green Acres are like porn to me.

Ever get the urge to just wallow in the mud and snort?


My wife says that I am living proof that men are pigs.

I get alot of jokes once people find out. However all is good fun. I am thankful I had a specialist that knew what he was doing and knew his job extremely well. A cut above alot in the medical business.

Tim Little Photography wrote:
Hi Micyl!

I know pig skin very well. The prep work they did for this surgery included a pig skin graft a few weeks ago. In my case the body rejects it at some point but that's fine. In the mean time nerve endings and tiny blood vessels start growing.

Do they know why your body rejects the pig skin graft? Most pig skin grafts have a more successful rate than human skin grafts.

There has to be an underlying reason as to why your body is rejecting the grafts.

One thing that helped my body not reject the graft, helped my nerve issues, blood flow issue, etc was lots of Gatorade. My doctor told me that there was something in Gatorade that helped the body to not reject the graft, etc so I had to drink 16 ounces of Gatorade every 4 hours for several weeks before they did the graft.

Something you might want to check into. Also my doctor had the nurses use a Betadine and sugar solution on my leg before and after the graft. The Betadine and sugar soultion also aides in the body not rejecting a skin graft, aides in the skin not getting infected, etc.

Just a couple of things you might want to talk about with your doctors about esp the Betadine and sugar solution.

I wish I could give you my specialist's contact info however he has passed away since my ordeal. He was one of the best burn specialist in the country which is obvious by what he did with my leg.

Tim Little Photography wrote:
I LOVE YOU ALL!

I am back home and everything seems to have gone wonderfully! I got there a tad early and they got me back into the OR a little early. I was out like a light in no time and in what feels like a split second latter I have nurses yelling at me. Saying "It's over and you did great", "Would you like another blanket?" and my favorite, "Can we give you even more pain medicine?"

I'm sore but well medicated. The bandages come of on Thursday. That will let us know how the graft took. I feel really good about it.

And you guys!! You put my mind and my soul at ease. I bragged about you to anyone who would listen.

Thank you all so much! I got nothing but love for ya!

*hugs*

Tim Little Photography wrote:
I LOVE YOU ALL!

I am back home and everything seems to have gone wonderfully! [...]

Good to hear from you!

That's great news. I will keep these positive thoughts going for a speedy, smooth recovery!

Tim Little Photography wrote:
I LOVE YOU ALL!

I am back home and everything seems to have gone wonderfully! I got there a tad early and they got me back into the OR a little early. I was out like a light in no time and in what feels like a split second latter I have nurses yelling at me. Saying "It's over and you did great", "Would you like another blanket?" and my favorite, "Can we give you even more pain medicine?"

I'm sore but well medicated. The bandages come of on Thursday. That will let us know how the graft took. I feel really good about it.

And you guys!! You put my mind and my soul at ease. I bragged about you to anyone who would listen.

Thank you all so much! I got nothing but love for ya!