Why isn't my infection responding to antibiotics? Is this normal? What should be done to help me heal?

I agree with prior posts that cultures are important to identify the offending organism.  It usually is a Staph aureus infection which if resistant, needs stronger antibiotics.  Another possibility is a mycobacterium which requires long term antibiotics.  In the meantime, daily wound care packing the wounds with gauze and irrigating with saline is recommended.

Sometimes your suture can start causing issues as your body tries to break it down and absorb it. It's scary and unfortunate, but you just have to be patient and do local care which sometimes includes making a small incision over the suture in order to remove it.  I agree that cultures would be nice, but I would be surprised if your PS wasn't already thinking Staph and had you on an antibiotic to cover that.  If your body has formed a little wall around the suture, the antibiotic can't get delivered to it by your blood stream.  The only option is to remove the suture.

Infections after a tummy tuck occur in less than 2% of patients, but when they occur, they can be very difficult to clear. There are two common reasons why infections don't clear quickly in some people. First, the antibiotic selected does not work against the bacteria causing the infection due to either an inadequate dose - or more often - the bacteria is resistant to the antibiotic selected. I believe a culture should be performed if one round of antibiotics does not clear an infection. The other common reason some wounds have a difficult time healing is because of the geometry/mechanical issues put strain on the tissues that are trying to heal because of the location of the wound in relation to how you sit, stand, &  move. This is sometimes difficult to recognize and even more difficult to modify - the wound is located where it is located. However, sometimes creative dressings can alter the geometry slightly to allow for better healing. I also see this "geometry/location" issue with women who have trouble healing their c-section scars. Good luck.

When a patient has an infection, a plastic surgeon will often:Take a culture of the wound.Put the patient on a course of antibiotics for a sufficiently long period of time to control the infection. The number of days varies by antibiotic and by infection.Have the patient do dressing changes of an open wound either by packing it or by applying a special ointment, depending on the wound.With a persistent infection, sometimes the wound is opened and the area cleaned.Occasionally doctors ask for help from
infection disease specialists if an infection is resistant to treatment.

I hope you feel better soon.

While post-op wound infections can unfortunately occur and linger for months, it is important to know whether you really have an infection.  Were cultures taken, and, if positive, were you placed on appropriate antibiotics?  Other causes of wound breakdown can be fat necrosis (death of subcutaneous fat due to poor blood supply), which leads to tunnelling.  Also the bumps you feel may be sterile suture abscesses. Some people are intolerant of certain type of suture material, and the body tries to expel it. Your surgeon should be able to distinguish between these, and advise you aprropriately.