Drainage probs after surgery
Hi girls, had my mast Wed last week and when I went back on Tue to get dressings changed there was a large buildup of fluid under my incision which had to be drained. Was told as I only had sentinel node +1 taken that it shouldn't happen again. But it has and I'm back to hosp in the morning to have it drained again. It's causing a huge amount of discomfort & pain! Don't even want to wear the foob as it puts too much pressure on the area.
Anyone else come across this prob and how long did it take you to right itself?
Comments
Hi Aniq,
Just to let you know that my heart goes out to you. Cancer is an intruder in all our lives here and has no respect for the wonderful women, wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends we all are. Cancer entering your life when you should be enjoying carefree time with your new baby seems such an outrage.
I promise, things do get better, though there will be some rough moments too. Take each hurdle, one at a time and push the future hurdles out of your mind as much as you can.
I wish you much joy and happiness with your little baby.
Hugs
Kath
Well said Kathleen. I have a really painful shin bone (I broke it nearly 5 years ago) post chemo and when I get back from holidays I'm going to have to resurrect the crutch. I can barely walk and am pretty immobile. Before chemo I would walk for an hour and a half most days now I can't walk across the room. If you stop and think you'd go mad. I'm going for physio when I get back so please God I'll be fixed soon. I suppose we are lucky to get out of chemo with little consequences. Like you say cancer and it's cure invaded our lives but hopefully only temporarily xxx
Hi Aniq,
I can empathise with you. I had fluid build up too after surgery following a double mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. It was quite painful as I remember. My surgery was in July 2012 and I'm in a much better place now. I did have it drained at some stage but I also found manual lymphatic drainage by my physiotherapist great. Sounds like some big process but its actually just like massaging the areas but in the correct way. She also used kinesio tape which I found amazing. I'm not sure if all HSE physiotherapists are trained to use this tape but I was lucky that mine was. Here's a link to explain it.
http://www.kinesiotaping.com/global/ass ... ethod.html
Wishing you all the best and hope your having lots of fun and happy days with your little one too.
Hi Wicklow Lady,
I'm so sorry to hear that your leg is bothering you so much and I hope your leg improves soon as you recover post chemo. Chemo definitely strikes our weaknesses. I hope the worst is over for you soon.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday
Hugs
Kath
Yes, it's normal, it's called a seroma & I was going back to get them drained for at least 3 weeks after if memory serves me right. I could only wear the soft prosthesis at first & got the proper one after 6 weeks. Talk to Breast Care nurse about this, it may put your mind at rest.
Take care.