[Lani]

on lymphedema prevention/treatment. It was given by a PhD located at Ohio State University(since you are in Ohio) who is a breast cancer survivor herself and has had two axillary node dissections (one after her initial tumor was discovered, one after her recurrence), and developed lymphedema herself after the first.

The graphs she showed showed it to be very rare(but not impossible) to develop lymphedema in the first few weeks after surgery--it is much more common to develop it later.

If the surgeon was able to drain something off this long after surgery that is unusual. The character of the fluid--how much protein, how many blood cells, etc determines if it was a seroma or hematoma, but a hematoma would probably have congealed and been more like tomato-aspic and not been drainable with a needle this long after surgery.

Seromas can cause venous back-up by compressing the structures necessary for return of blood and perhaps to lymph as well.

Have you been keeping your arm elevated above heart level to try to get the fluid back down with gravity (works better for venous blood than lymph)? Have you regained full range of motion of your shoulder.

Should you want to get in touch with this researcher I will look to check her name on the lecture schedule.