"Allergic reaction after partial knee replacement"

I had a partial knee replacement in early February.

Everything went well apart from problems with the anaesthetic again. Same as last year with my hip replacement, the spinal block didnt work properly so I had to have a general anyway.

Apart from that all was good, the staff and treatment was great apart from when I had a reaction to something around my incision. The dressing was full of blood initially and then yellow liquid was seeping out the sides. It was painful and itchy and my trousers were constantly soaked.

I called the ward twice but they just said put a bandage around it to soak up the liquid and don't remove the dressing, even though it was still soaking through to my trousers. When I saw the nurse for a dressing change after two weeks she said it was very angry and I had had a bad reaction to something and it needed re-dressing as it was still seeping. She also gave me cream for it.

I had also come out in an allergy rash all over my torso which was extremely itchy and I could not sleep because of it. (I had not changed anything, food, washing powder etc.) I had to speak to my doctor about it and he gave me antihistamine and steroid cream. It caused me great distress as I was trying to cope with the knee replacement pain and exercises as well as getting over all the drugs etc. and trying to walk again.

I feel I should not have been told to put up with the dressing leakage and should have been told to see a nurse to get the dressing changed. I could have been out of the extra pain and distress much quicker. It was nearly four weeks before I could remove the dressing entirely.