What does the redness on a surgical wound suggest?

Q: My 26 years old wife has a severe problem of gas and abdomen pain due to stones in the gall bladder. She has been operated for the same through laparoscopic method four months back. Now it has been observed that out of the four cut marks on her abdomen, two small cut marks have completely cured but the other two big marks are looking like red strings and the skin near the mark has become red and hard. How can this be treated?

A:Redness and hardness in a surgical site suggest infection. Please check with your doctor if the wound is infected. In some cases the doctor will make a small incision and let the pus out. This takes only a minute. Laparoscopic surgery has another complication, which rarely occurs with open surgery. This is infection with atypical mycobacteria. Your doctor should consider this as well. If the wound is infected with atypical mycobacteria, it will not heal by ordinary measures. Since it is now four months after the operation, this complication is a genuine possibility.