Cut leg

Good day to everyone.
I sliced my leg open on a bike gear yesterday—pretty deep, actually. I hit muscle, so they had to stitch it up, and now there’s some kind of plastic material left inside. I went in for a dressing change today, but I'm curious if anyone here has dealt with this before. How much did it hurt when they removed the foreign object? What was the recovery timeline like? Any advice to make this easier would be appreciated. 😢
One doctor suggested a surgeon should evaluate whether I need an actual procedure, though he claims my tendons are fine based solely on the report from the guy who stitched me up. He says I don't need surgery and will be back on my feet in about two weeks. I have little faith in doctors, so if anyone has been through something similar, please share.

Hey there. As long as the tendon is intact, I don't think you're looking at any major issues. That said, it probably wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion from a few specialists—maybe even a surgeon—just to be safe. Don't sweat it too much; everything should turn out fine. A buddy of mine went through something pretty similar. You should be back to normal in about 20 days.

Chris Diaz said:Hey there. As long as the tendon is intact, I don't think you're looking at any major issues. That said, it probably wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion from a few specialists—maybe even a surgeon—just to be safe. Don't sweat it too much; everything should turn out fine. A buddy of mine went through something pretty similar. You should be back to normal in about 20 days.

Can you actually tell if the tendon is okay? I don't trust our doctors here. I once broke my leg and they told me nothing was wrong except a minor tendon strain and that I could walk fine, but it turned out to be a completely wrong diagnosis.

Listen, get yourself to a surgeon immediately. If there’s a tendon issue in your leg and you don't handle it right away, you're looking at permanent damage. Don't put any stock in those doctors who act like they've got a monopoly on all medical knowledge; if a physician actually refers you to a specialist colleague, that’s usually the sign of someone you can actually trust.
That plastic thing you're feeling is most likely just a drain, installed specifically to make sure any potential infection or buildup gets flushed out. Having the drain pulled is definitely not a walk in the park, but I promise you, it’s nothing compared to the agony of the actual surgery or the injury itself—and it'll be over in a heartbeat.

A buddy of mine just tore a tendon in his index finger. Recovery usually drags on for about two months—it takes a month just for the tendon to knit back together, then another four to eight weeks to get the movement back. But hey, that was just the diagnosis for an index finger!

I GUESS YOUR DOCTOR MIGHT ACTUALLY BE RIGHT FOR ONCE! 👍

DON'T STRESS TOO MUCH! 👍

Just listen to the doctor and go see a surgeon if you want to stop worrying about it.

I already saw the surgeon. He looked over the results and brushed it off like it was nothing. Still, I’m uneasy because I overheard some doctors mentioning an Achilles tendon issue and the possibility of surgery. That’s what’s sticking with me. This morning, the surgeon just skimmed the report, cleared up the gray areas, and insisted everything will be fine and no operation is necessary.

Look, if you don't trust us, then there’s honestly no point in me even typing anything to you, maybe you should just go find some local shaman or something instead...

And I don't want to be the only one chiming in here—but if a surgeon told you that you don't need an operation, then you probably don't need one. That plastic thing they mentioned is likely just a drain used for infected or potentially infected wounds, placed deep into the tissue to help pull out all those inflammatory fluids... You can always run into some massive superinfection if the wound source was filthy (and let's be real, a greasy bike chain definitely fits that description), which could mess things up and drag out your recovery, but in actual practice, a surgically cleaned wound shouldn't take longer than two or three weeks to get through at least the first stage of healing...

Otherwise, if you haven't had your tetanus shot lately, you really ought to check when yours was last updated; I'm sure they would have noted that in your medical records at the hospital, but still...

vividotter7 said:I already saw the surgeon. He looked over the results and brushed it off like it was nothing. Still, I’m uneasy because I overheard some doctors mentioning an Achilles tendon issue and the possibility of surgery. That’s what’s sticking with me. This morning, the surgeon just skimmed the report, cleared up the gray areas, and insisted everything will be fine and no operation is necessary.

Look, the guy did exactly what he was supposed to do by telling you to see a surgeon if he thought more work might be needed—that’s just being professional and following protocol. He referred you to a specialist, and the specialist checked you out and said you're good to go.
If you aren't feeling confident about that answer, then go find another surgeon and get a second opinion.

I started this thread because I cut my leg open, though things seem to be healing alright so far...
I have a quick question about the recovery process. They already removed half of my stitches—I had nine total—and the rest come out this Tuesday. Since I actually sliced through some muscle, I’m wondering if there are specific exercises I should start doing early on to help me get back to walking normally.

If anyone has dealt with something similar, please share your experience. My doctors haven't given me much guidance.
On May 28th, I sliced my leg on a bicycle gear. It was deep enough to hit the subcutaneous tissue and cut into the muscle—though I'm not entirely sure how much muscle was actually affected.
I went back to the surgeon on the 30th to have the stitches checked and redressed. He told me to re-wrap it every other day, which I’ve been doing, with the plan to have all nine stitches removed by June 10th. He took a few out already and said I can finish the rest tomorrow; my mother will handle the last ones since she's a nurse. My main issue is that the doctor removing the stitches hasn't mentioned anything about when I can walk again or if I need physical therapy for the muscle. He just told me not to work out, but gave no timeline. A different surgeon—a younger one who seemed less experienced—suggested I could start walking slowly once the stitches are out. I'm looking for some clarity here: does anyone know if I should be starting specific exercises for this muscle yet? I'm honestly lost on how this works.