Six months ago, I had triple by-pass surgery at a veterans hospital in the US. Though I quickly recovered from the by-pass surgery and was discharged 6 days after, I developed a serious Cellulitis infection in my left leg where a section of vein had been removed.  Doctors were slow to respond, assuming it was routine post-surgical inflammation.  My leg became highly inflammed and painful with large areas of surface numbness. My complaints were finally taken seriously and I was re-admitted to the hospital and spent 5 more days receiving Vancomycin twice daily via IV.  This treatment seemed effective, the inflammation went way down and the pain went away.  I was discharged and returned to Thailand a month later.  I had full use of my leg and was able to walk without discomfort.

Now, 6 months later, I have no problems walking or with leg pain but I still have a sizable area on my lower leg, above the ankle (where the inflammation was worse)  that is numb to the touch and slightly red.  When I press with my finger, it turns white, then quickly returns to normal when I release the pressure.

Should I be concerned or is this a normal consequence of a cellulitis infection such as I had?

If I should have it checked, would I seek an infectious disease specialist?

Is this something which has occurred recently, or has it been the same since the cellulitis infection?

 

I have a similar issue after a bout of cellulitis last year, but the area has been numb from day one. In my case the doc says it's no issue and is never going to improve.

 

If worried, consult a doctor, make sure he understands you had cellulitis.

 

Just now, Crossy said:

Is this something which has occurred recently, or has it been the same since the cellulitis infection?

 

I have a similar issue after a bout of cellulitis last year, but the area has been numb from day one. In my case the doc says it's no issue and is never going to improve.

 

If worried, consult a doctor, make sure he understands you had cellulitis.

 

Like yours, mine has been numb since the onset of the infection.   Thanks for responding so quickly.

I suspect your Dr. is correct and it is just something I'll live with. Not a bad alternative to loosing my leg which almost happened.

One thing my doc did stress, is that if anything changes get straight to see the man. Even something as innocuous as a bruise that persists longer than one would normally expect.

 

I came within an ace of losing a toe, I intend keeping all my appendages so at the first sign I'm off to the doc. Of course my "advantage" is that I can go back to the same hospital who have all the records.

The numbness may also be from the surgery, surgery inevitably cuts peripheral nerves and numbness for quite some time thereafter is common.

 

I wouldn't worry about the numbness per se. The redness - it depends. If it is red like scar tissue/newly healed tissue, not a problem. Red like inflammation is a worry. What you could do is circle it with a marking pen and just keep an eye on whether it increases in size, if it does then see a doctor.

Actually, the marking pen trick is exactly what they did when I was re-admitted and they used that as a guide when determining if the Vancomycin was working.  

It is a faint, red like inflammation, not scar tissue or anything like that so I will take your suggestion and do a little artwork on it.