United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hello board - I am new to this so bear with me. I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter named Madison who just had her primary surgery done on February 6 at TCH. She had a severe injury (C6-T1 were completely avulsed). It has now been 13 days since surgery and her steri strips are still not coming off; at all. The nurse at TCH said they would start falling off around 5 days after surgery but would completely be off in 14 days. Anyone been in the same situation - should I start to soak them a little? And also she has started scratching at her chest really hard - any suggestions? I will take ALL the advice I can get. Thanks

Have you started washing her and letting the warm soapy water flow over the strips? Also you can ask TCH if you can put a onesie under the splint (watch for skin breakdowns with wrinkles though, we always use the smallest size that we can get on her) to help with the splint bothering her skin.

We were able to do that with Katie and just slipped it on the BPI arm first and the streched it over, not moving her arm at all.

Best of luck and welcome to the board.

We were really anal about them for the first two surgeries and pulled them off at the specific two week period but we learned with the third surgery that if just give them a bit more time they will come off automatically when the scab dries up enough. So my advice is not to worry - they won't be on there forever.

Kissies to your little one,
francine

So is it okay to leave the bandages off while the steristrips are still on since it has been two weeks or should we leave the bandages on UNTIL the strips fall off?

Hi, Madison's mommy!!! So glad to see you on here. Was wanting to know how you all are doing. Michaela asked me about " that little baby that we saw at the hospital". How are you holding up? E-mail me soon.
Anyway don't worry about the steristrips, they'll come off soon. Just bath her and they'll start coming off a few at a time. If you leave the bandages off, I would at least use the onesie under the splint.
I saw Madisonsmommie and got so excited. Welcome to the boards. Give Madison a big, big hug for me. We're praying for you all everyday! LeeAnne Browning

The bond between all of us on here is amazing but the ones we make when we are in that stressful situation of surgery and medical visits are astonishing. I consider two families we met a part of our family. Madison'smommie--I am so glad that you posted so that now Lee Anne will now be able to keep in touch with you. It helps having someone that was actually there with you...

Yes those strips will eventually fall off on their own with the washings. During katie's primary (her ped is a full time believer in cleaning those wounds in just a few days so this is just our experience) her ped noticed that she was able to pull on the neck strips and was going to make a mess of her neck if she continued to do so. So, he had us start washing and by the next day they were coming off. So just keep an eye out that she is not doing that as well when they start bugging or itching her. Who did the primary for you? Most of us on here have Dr. Nath's email if it was him and if you need it or I think you can find it on the TCH website.

Hello. I see everyone has already answered your question. I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the board. I'm sorry that your baby was injured and that you have to be here, but I'm glad that you found us. I hope we'll see more of you here. Ask any ?s that come to mind anytime. It's hard in the beginning b/c there's just so much to learn and understand. We're here for you. -Tina, Mommy to Nicole (almost 3 y.o., LOBPI)

Hi welcome to the board. I already see answers I would have given so I'm going to say welcome as well. Cindy (mom to Melanie and Matthew both rbpi)

Gabrielle's strips never came off either. When we went for her two week check the doctor removed them. I never would have done it so I'm glad he did. Does she have a check up soon?

Our steristrips didn't fall off for a couple of weeks, either. I left them alone; I figured, if they weren't coming off on their own, maybe the wound needed more time. I would clip the ends of the steristrip that were lifting up so they wouldn't snag on anything. Finally, after a couple of weeks, they started to come off. Elizabeth's scar is pretty nice. No infection, thank goodness.

Welcome to the board! My daughter is 3 1/2 now and her primary surgery at 5 mo. of age seems so long ago. Enjoy your precious little girl; she'll grow up so quickly!