The current plan is to discharge Charlie on Wednesday. One high-tech and one low-tech treatment will be ongoing at home, and the staff here at MSK is helping us make plans to manage those. The high-tech treatment is called V.A.C. therapy. It uses a battery-operated device that applies sub-atmospheric pressure to the incision wound through a specialized wound dressing. This therapy promotes wound healing, and the dressing needs to be changed only three times a week, rather than twice a day. Charlie is lucky that his wound is amenable to this therapy. The speed of healing when using the therapy can be very dramatic.
The low-tech (or maybe just lower-tech) treatment is the drain that is continuing to remove fluid, albeit at a much reduced rate than previously, from the abdomen. The drain will be removed at the earliest next Tuesday, and it could be needed for some time beyond then.
Charlie's temperature remains normal, and the scheduled discharge is obviously an indication that he is making progress. He looks well but is very fatigued from this ordeal. So am I!
