Seroma...

Chelee · 12-01-2006, 11:52 PM

I had fluid in my mastectomy site. It caused pain. My surgeon said it was a seroma & had it drained. Everything I read on these show they usually show up right away...not months later as mine did. I had it drained & it was instant relief. But it has already filled up again in no time.

My surgeon said we won't be draining it again...let the body absorb it. The first time mine showed up it was there for at least 3 months...so will my body really take care of it in time? The ultrasound tech told me these sometimes have to be drained several times. I wouldn't mind waiting if it wasn't causing me pain. One spot burns all the time & the pain runs into the axilla area.

Has any of you had to deal with one of these seroma's? I wondered about mine actually being a seroma as it was thick, gooney & bloodly. (Not clear fluid like it says a seroma should be.) But my surgeon said it was one regardless of the color of fluid.

Have any of you had your body absorb it in time? Did the pain go away? I feel so much pressure in there...its making me misrable.

Chelee

tousled1 · 12-02-2006, 07:02 AM

Chelee,

Glad to see you are posting again. Sorry to hear that you are having some problems though. I can't relate to a seroma at the breast incision site but I can tell you Ihad the same problem when I had my back fusion. It happened at the site where they took some bone from my hip. I had it drained once and it began to fill again but it disappeared on its own - my body reabsorbed the fluid. I'm sure it will be okay but if it continues to swell and cause discomfort then I'd ask about having it drained again.

Hopeful · 12-02-2006, 09:35 AM

Chelee,

My lumpectomy went without a hitch, but I had to have a second surguery three weeks later due to one positive margin. That was June 23rd. Immediately afterward, I developed a huge seroma/hematoma that almost jeopardized my getting into the study on partial breast irradiation. My entire breast and the area around the sentinel node biopsy scar swelled up to about three times the normal size. I did not have it drained; the doctor tried to get some fluid out about a month later, but it was too clotted and thick. Both the surgeon and the radiologist said the body would absorb it naturally. It has been getting smaller, incrementally, every day, and just now looks like it may be gone by the 6 month mark later this month. It was very sore; the area is still extremely sensitive. The radiologist beformed a cbe on Monday, and just that little amount of pressure was painful. I sympathize with what you are going through. The good news is that it will get better by itself over time, just never as fast as you want it to!

Hopeful

ps - The doctors both said to take Tylenol for pain instead of asprin or an asprin substitute, as they thin the blood and could make the problem worse.

AlaskaAngel · 12-02-2006, 10:47 AM

Hi Chelee. I'm sorry it is so uncomfortable having the seroma. I had one last for quite a while too, mostly because my surgeon wasn't in Alaska and I was... when I did go to Seattle eventually he drained it as best he could but it can take a while to disappear completely.

Incidentally, I had a CT in my hometown when I still had the seroma, and the rads doc there said in his report that I had a prosthesis .... He didn't recognize it was just a seroma... I have never been able to get that report corrected. My PCP even went so far as to verify with my surgeon that I have no prosthesis.

Anyway, I do sympathize. It sounds like the surgeon doesn't want to continue to poke you when the site is going to take time to heal and would just fill up with fluid again.

As ever,

AlaskaAngel

Chelee · 12-02-2006, 06:20 PM

Hopeful, I'm sorry to hear you had to deal with this too, but I do feel better hearing that someone else had fluid that was blood filled verses just clear as it said it should be. That concerned me a bit...but I do trust my surgeon...so I shouldn't of worried about it. He had a intern at my last appt. so I didn't really get to talk to him. I called and made another appt. with him for this week so that he might have more time to discuss this with me due to the pain if nothing else. Your experience sounds pretty much like mine. Mine is very sore and worse yet if I touch it. Its seems bigger every day.

You brought up something I did not think about which is asprin. Before I had the ultrasound guided biospy I had to *stop* all asprin a week ahead of time. I did resume taking asprin again two weeks *after* it was drained. I hope the asprin isn't causing the problem...or at least adding to it? I was told by onc to take one baby asprin a day for my port. (Plus I sometimes take two ibprofin per day for pain/inflammation.) This is something I will bring up to my surgeon this week. Thanks for mentioning that.

Thanks for letting me know yours got better in time...that is encouraging. Right now it sure feels awful.

Chelee

bmuenks · 12-02-2006, 06:22 PM

I had a seroma right after my lumpectomy. My surgeon drained it twice. I was having a lot of pressure (felt kind of like when I was too full of milk and breastfeeding ) It was very bloody looking. He said I should let my body absorb it after the two drainings because it would have a better cosmetic effect that way so that's what I did. I can't remember how long it took but it must have been a while. BERTA

Chelee · 12-02-2006, 06:41 PM

AlaskaAngel, It sounds like its more common for these to last longer then I thought. I just never expected mine to fill back up so fast. I think my surgeon is worried about draining it to many times as there is always risk for infection. Now that its been drained once, biopsied & found to have no malignancies I guess he's not concerned now. Feels like its putting pressure on my right lung...but hopefully in time it will disappear as it did for you & Hopeful.

They should let you add a *correction* to your medical files that mentioned you had a prosthesis. Like you...I want my information correct. I read they have to let you add a separate piece of paper that states the true facts that you are disputing...even though their original paper stays in the file. I would type something up and *make* them add it to your medical records.

Thanks to all...

Chelee