Well - here we are again!
Day 17 after my mastectomy and I've been back up at the hospital breast clinic this morning to have another 300 ml of seroma fluid drained from beneath my chest wall scar.
This time it was drained by a specialist nurse practitioner who was really down to earth and helpful.
Here's her take on seroma after mastectomy:
She said that seroma formation happens to nearly everyone to some degree - more in older women and often more in women with larger breasts.
The only real reason to drain the fluid is if it becomes very uncomfortable - which it certainly did for me.
If you decide to have seroma fluid drained then it can take up to three or four goes before it stops reaccumulating and it often becomes more uncomfortable each time that the drainage is done.
She was really reassuring - telling me that it was nothing to worry about and that having a seroma does not cause any problems with the long term healing or the long term appearance.
So - lets hope that's it then for me - although somehow I just expect that I'll be back again for another go at drainage.
Marjory
You can also read my other posts about seroma after mastectomy and about draining seroma fluid
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6 comments:
hi marjory,
I had a bilateral mastectomy w/expanders last friday (may 19). I've had my boob drained once already, and now have accumulated more fluid. It is annoying and worrisome, even though I know it's not a big deal, health wise. I think I'll get mine drained again, too. sigh. Thanks for posting on this, I thought I was the only one going thru it.
Marjory - Thanks for being here and sharing !! I am still accumulating fluid to the point that it sloshes when I walk (in between the breasts. I can also feel and see in in armpits, my back and upper abdomen. It shifts with my position. My surgery was a bilateral mastectomy wi 1 node taken on the right on Nov. 14th wi expanders placed. My surgeon tried to drain it in one place but couldn't get anything. Last week I saw him and asked how long the fluid would stay and he said "Let's not go there..." Of course, that was a less than satisfactory answer. I am OK if it will reabsorb at some point, but it drives me crazy !! I can feel it "shift" wi many motions - not painful, but annoying and irritating. Any hope for me ??? Thanks - and HAPPY NEW YEAR !!! May 2008 be better for us all... A
Hi Marjory - I had a left sided mastectomy 8 months ago and started developing a seroma about six days ago. I have been exercising regularly since June (my last radiation tx). Could this be a reason I am just now getting this?
is it unusual to have a seroma 14 months after surgery??
I have had a seroma for 3 months. have had 5 drainages - and hhave now stopped having them in the hope it will diminish of its own accord. No sign yet. It drives me nuts
Paula
I had a bilateral mastectomy on March 29, 2010 and wore 4 drains for almost two weeks. They removed the drains and staples and I thought I was home free. NOT SO! Two days later I developed a staph infection in my left incision that literally exploded. The surgeon cleaned out about a quarter of a cup of infection and put me on strong antibiotics, Now I have a collection of fluid on the right side that looks like I'm growing another boob! I can see and feel it sloshing around under the skin. Do you think it needs to be drained. The surgeon did nor want to do it while I had the staph. Any ideas? Oh, how do they drain it?
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