Marjory's mastectomy was done through one incision. Some people have two cuts - one on the chest wall and one in the armpit area.
She had two mastectomy drains in place afterwards.
The purpose of drains after mastectomy is to drain away the fluid that can gather in the armpit region or around the scar on the chest wall. Some people after mastectomy also find that fluid gathers around the shoulder blade area on their back - this seems more common if the muscle from the back has been used for breast reconstruction at the time the mastectomy was done.
When mastectomy is done - and especially if the lymph nodes are removed from the axilla or armpit - then there is a lot of tissue fluid and lymph fluid left with no where to go. This fluid normally flows through the lymph channels but if they are cut then it can escape into the normal skin and muscle tissues.
Your surgeon will place drains under your skin after mastectomy. These drains gather up the fluid and remove it to a bottle (or bottles) that you carry around with you. Some people use a belt clip to attach the drain to their waistband - making them more mobile. Others carry the drain in a handbag.
In Marjory's case the chest wall drain was removed after three days and she was allowed home with the armpit drain still in place. Different surgeons and different hospitals take a different view of when the drain should come out. In Marjory's case the Edinburgh Breast Unit told us that her armpit mastectomy drain could be removed when it drained less than fifty millilitres in twenty four hours - or after seven days - whichever came first. Some surgeons leave the drains in much longer. The Edinburgh unit said that they felt the risk of infection increased a bit after seven days so preferred to remove it.
As Marjory has written elsewhere on this site - the discomfort from the mastectomy drains - was, for her at least, the most difficult thing to deal with post op. I guess everyone is different but do make sure that you are prepared for the effect that the drain can have - both physically and emotionally. Not truly severe in pain terms but the constant dragging discomfort really dragged Marjory down emotionally.
Gordon - May 2006
Read more about mastectomy problems on our mastectomy information page
Posts
7 comments:
Hello Marjory,
I was just diagnosed and am facing msstectomy and checked your site with drain questions. Found the info very helpful. Thank you.
Any hints on drain management. ??
I had a mastecomy on the 14th of October. My surgeon dosen't want to remove it until the volume is at or below 50cc's in 24 hours. Today is Nov 3, and it is still producing about 100 cc's per day. It is very anoying, like having somebody poking your side with a pencil 24/7. Day, night, it never stops. I take oxycodone at night so I can sleep, and tylenol and ibuprofen during the work day. I would give anything to just have it removed, but I know it heals the surgery better when it is functioning.
i had a lumpsectomy for invasive
ductal carcinoma on dec. 18, 2008. my surgon did not leave any drain devices, and a week later i developed a huge area of red inflamed tissues for as big as 1/2 of my right breast. i was given antibiotic pills on the 31st of dec, and by jan 10th, i had to go to emergency at the hospital as my body developed a hole above the
incision, and started spewing out fluid. i was admitted for hospital stay, and was given heat pad to induce further drain. the worst part is that the surgon had to open up the wound and started to dig out the blood clots. this is the most horrible experience i have ever had, worse than the surgery itself. i wish i read your articles prior to the surgery, so that i would have been aware that i needed a drain.
now i am living with a huge cavity
stuffed with gauz, changed every 6 hrs. the hole is as deep as 8cm, and as wide as 2+ inches. this setback could have been avoided, if we were more informed.
thnx marjory for sharing your info. i learned quite a bit about seroma today, from your site.
I wish I found this site before my surgery! I just had a bilateral mastectomy (both breasts removed)on july 21 2009 and they took all the lymphnodes from under my left arm. I have 2 drains and I cannot have them removed until I'm 20 cc or less a day. I'm down to 60cc. I'm really hope they take them out tomorrow! They say they will not leave them longer then 3 weeks, and this is week 3. The drains are the worst part of this whole thing, they pull and hurt all the time.And keeping my 2 yr old from pulling on them is a chore lol. If not for the drains I think this would have been a cake walk, a long one, but eaiser by far.
I had a bilateral mastectomy with tissue expanders on the 19th Aug 2009. My drains have been in for 6 days now and have produced less than 20cc in the past 2 days - im going in to remove them tomorrow (one week). Everyone is different. They are annoying and inconvenient to have. I feel like there is a constant pin poking me from the bottom of my breasts. Sometimes i get surges of pain but all in all its bearable.
I had a bilatteral mastectomy April 2nd, 2010. I had the drains for 14 days, was draining around 40 a day when removed. Now on day 19 they are talking putting the left drain back in due to swelling and soreness with fluid buildup!
I had my mastectomy 3 weeks ago, just one side but I wish they had taken the other also. The scar is now my reality and the other one is the oddity. Interesting how nature works on our perceptions. I have had no discomfort to speak of with the scar itself (except for 2 folds under my arm) but the drain was terrible. It hurt all the time, the stitch holding it in place pulled and by the 10th day I demanded they see me to either remove it or do something about the pain. I was down to under 20cc per day and it was Friday, I could not go 2 more days until Monday with it. I am a strong woman, I have a high pain tolerance, and this was my 8th operation on one thing or another since I was 15. But getting the drain out was by far the worst experience I have ever gone through. I cried like a baby and hyperventilated. Which probably helped the nurse take it out between sobs. It was a good thing she said it was only in 2 or 3 inches and not the 8 or 9 it actually was (I looked in the trash after she left the room). If I ever have to have another one, just knock me out until it's gone.
I haven't yet been fitted for a prosthesis or a new bra. The drain scar and under my arm from the 6 biopsies are still tender.
I went to the store 2 days after the operation, I walked around with a friend and slept for 3 hours afterwards. It was an emotional boost to be among whole bodied people and none were the wiser. Now, I'm at a point that I wear my t-shirts and the 'puff' of fiberfill to fill that side of my post-mastectomy camisole. Hey, I am alive, losing a breast is not keeping me from anything in my life. I would be far more devastated if I lost a hand or foot. I am both-handed but not ambidexterious, and have always been extremely athletic. Every woman but one sister in my family has been touched by breast cancer, plus colon cancer in one sister. We have that in our history so it's not a suprise, it's another hurdle.
Oh and one more thing, I have Adenoid Cystic Carcenoma - it's very rare and not curable. It is however slow growing so I will be extra alert to new lumps and pains. This is the first time I have allowed myself to be pampered a little, take time to rest as much as I need to, and accept the good wishes of family and friends. My husband has been far more sympathetic and caring this time than for my other operations. I'm thankful for all of the above which I hope is making me into a nicer person little by little. I don't "sweat the small stuff" quite like I used to that's for sure.
Take care all of you and thank you for your blog all for your comments.
Post a Comment