Almost 3 weeks since my mastectomy

Hi,

It's a good idea to ring your breast care nurse. It's probably a seroma (fluid build up). They can sort themselves out but some need draining. Worth ringing for advice and peace of mind.

I'm 2 weeks post and get the not knowing what is normal as things feel so strange at the moment.

Best wishes

I hope you’re recovering well.

I’ve just spoken to the breast nurse and she has said that it sounds like it could be a seroma as long as it’s not painful then it should reabsorb into my body. I have my follow up appointment on 13th so she said if I can wait until then they will check it out but if it becomes painful and I can’t cope then I’ve to call them straight back

Hi,

I'm glad you rang and I hope you are feeling reassured. I'm lucky I only have a small lump that is unchanged from when the nurse saw it when I  had my drain removed. I also have my follow-up on 13th. I hope we both get positive news.

Hi Dizzy,

I had a bit of fluid build up on one side after my double mastectomy earlier this year. It's funny that you describe it like a water bed, because that is exactly how I described mine - it's quite bizarre and in a way fascinating to touch!! I was told it was very normal and like lucky and your breast care nurse have said, they usually absorb back into your body naturally. 

4 weeks post op (once my wounds were 'healed') I saw a specialist breast physio who advised me to massage the area around the fluid to help it to reabsorb into the body and I have been attending weekly physio sessions for the last 6 months where she does a deeper massage of the scars and surrounding tissue to help and now the fluid has completely gone. The massage also helps to keep the scar free from the chest wall and so helps to make sure you get full mobility back for future years.

She also advised me to wear a bandage wrap around my chest for a 4-6 weeks as a kind of compression to remove the space where the fluid was - this helped a lot. However, I'm not sure if you have had a single mastectomy if it would work as well. Walking and very gentle movements also help to drain it away naturally.

Wishing you all the best with your recovery x

Hope your appointment goes well on the 13th too 

Hi Rose, yeah it is pretty bizarre isn’t it ha ha. thank you very much for the tips will give the massage a go  x