7393fc91_SA_Abscess_and_Septra_Reaction__Overview
[Day] Day 15 [Date] May 22nd [My Story] At general surgery, they performed an incision and drainage under local anesthesia. This allowed the majority of the pus to drain out. The "hole" in my leg left by the abscess now needed to heal from the inside out. If the incision were sutured, the abscess would fill again with pus and get reinfected. To do this, they "pack" the wound with gauze and repack it regularly until the wound heals. In other words, the surgical incision is kept open and draining until the abscess heals. Even under local anesthetic, the first packing was the most painful part of the process. I was under a great deal of pain right after the I&D, but the pain decreased dramatically over the rest of the day. It felt a lot better. [Suggestions and Advice] The following videos from YouTube show how a typical I&D goes. While extremely disturbing to watch, it helped me a great deal in psychologically preparing myself for the surgery. This particular video series is good because it shows the whole process: local anesthetic, surgical incision and drainage, and finally wound packing. What it doesn't quite show is the normal amount of pus drainage right after the incision. Video One Video Two Video Three [Overview] 
General Surgery
MRSA Abscess and Septra Reaction
Overview