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Bartholin abscess drained but am concerned about . . .?

I had a large Bartholin abscess drained by an ER doctor two days ago, and the ER doctor had inserted packing inside me to, I guess, keep the wound open to drain properly. She told me to go to my PCP within 48 hours to do a wound check. I went to a doctor today, and he said that it was too soon to do a wound check, since I'd just had the procedure. He needs to give me time to heal in order to check that the wound is healing properly, which makes sense to me. However, the packing is still inside me. Now, my next appointment is 9 days from now. I had asked if it was okay to have the packing inside me for that long, and the doctor said it was safe. However, I was curious to know what the material was, so I looked it up and on a medical website (not Web MD, but it was more of a site for doctors than regular people like me), it said that the packing is usually removed 24-48 hours after insertion, unless a catheter was inserted. In my case, no catheter was inserted. Should I be concerned? I don't know if I'm being superparanoid, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea of having foreign material inside my body that's not supposed to be there. The gyno said it was safe, but then I find contradictory information online. Can someone in the medical profession help reassure me? If it's safe to have it there, that's fine. Anything to help me heal faster is okay by me. But if it's not safe, can someone out there advise me?

Public Comments

1. I would call the ER and ask to speak to the attending physician to see if 24-48 hours is their typical recommendation. If they concur, I would call back your primary and ask why he is advising contrary to the hospital's recommendation. Do not be afraid to speak up. Personally, in my opinion, I think 9 days is too long too. Instead of the PCP, do you have a seperate gynecologist that you see? If so, call their office and see what they say. If they want to see you sooner, and you need a referral, perhaps that office can call your PCP and ask for the referral on your behalf. I have had this type of cyst before, which fortunately for me, resolved on its own. I know how painful it is; you certainly do not need additional stress from the 'medical merry go round'. Remember to speak up and good luck to you. Post again and let us know what was advised.