Seroma

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Hi, had a mastectomy on 4th February with 20 lymph nodes removed of which 9 were cancerous. I came out of Ashford Hospital TW16 the next day with two drains attached. I returned on 11 Feb to have one drain removed and the 18th for the second drain to be removed. I returned to see the consultant on 25th February and a breast care nurse drained another 150ml from a sermon under my arm. This seroma has consequently filled up again and I have been back to see the nurses three weeks running in March but they will not drain it. I saw a manual lymphatic nurse privately and she massaged both my scar, seroma under my arm and she told me that I have a swelling in my back following round from the seroma. She suggested I purchased a sports bra as the mastectomy bras that I had purchased didn’t come high enough to aid compression. I have now purchased a mastectomy sports bra but needed to purchase a size larger to accommodate the swelling in my back, or unless this particular bra comes up small? I haven’t been able to sleep on my left side since my surgery due to the pain of lying on my seroma. Do you have any suggestions that I can do? Thanks

Eileen M - Macmillan over 3 years ago

Hi Debbielyn,

Thank you for getting in touch. I can see you’ve joined the Breast Cancer forum and I hope you find this a source of information and support.

My name is Eileen and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses at Macmillan.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re having pain due to the seroma. These fluid collections are not uncommon after breast surgery and are usually reabsorbed by the body over time. Larger seromas can take several months to heal.

Some people may have their seroma drained more than once, particularly if it’s large, causing pain or restricting arm movement. The risk in draining the fluid is that infection could be introduced into the area during the procedure.

No medication is known to be effective in reducing seromas. However, over the counter pain medications can help to reduce the pain or inflammation that the seroma is causing.

You mentioned that the Manual Lymphatic Nurse had advised that there was swelling in your back following round from the seroma. If this is an increase in swelling since last being in touch with the Breast Care Nurses, we would suggest making them aware.

I can appreciate that the discomfort due to the seroma can be difficult to deal with, but they do usually resolve in time.

I hope this information was helpful.

Take care and best wishes,

Eileen

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.

Our Ref: DC

Eileen M - Macmillan Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

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Seroma