Keeping The Surgery Sites Dry While Showering

Hi Natty, sorry to hear you will be having a lumpectomy and a couple of lymph nodes. I took had this ( you can click on my name to read my journey if you like) I had a special corset on after my op.I  was advised by my surgeon I wasn’t allowed to shower for 10 days until I had seen her ant my follow up and given chance for my op site to heal a bit. Instead I just washed down with a flannel bit old fashioned I know but it worked . I guess if you have a shower that you can hold in your hand you could shower from the waist down. Unfortunately ours is fixed so I had to wait. After the 10 days I was able to shower as normal. Maybe some others have different experiences or can help giving advice how they kept their wounds dry.

Wishing you all the best for your journey.

Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x

Hi Natty  same as Cuffcake, I have a fixed shower so couldn’t use it so I also just flannel washed. You must keep it all dry and I never found anything I could use to cover it all so I could shower! Thankfully it’s winter for you so it’s not so bad, I had to do mine during the heatwave in the summer! Perhaps a shallow bath & just be careful! Good luck! 

Hi Natty

i did the same as Cuffcake. The dressing is waterproof so even if you got a bit of water on it  it fine. I was lucky as we have  a hand shower..

good Luck xx

I got slightly different advice from others on here. I had a lumpectomy and 3 lymph nodes removed. I had dissolvable stiches inside the wounds and butterfly stitches outside. I had waterproof bandages over that and then had to wear a compression bandage for the first 24 hours. I was able to shower after 24 or 48 hours and as the dressings were waterproof, they just said don't pour water all over them in the shower or have a bath for the first week or so. They said the bandages and butterfly stitches would likely fall off on their own and I had to see my local nurse at the 2 week stage to check on the wound and remove any remaining butterfly stitches.

The waterproof bandages fell off after a few days or so, the under arm one a few days before the other one. I showered fine, just took some care.

Hi Natty , lovely replies already from the fine folks here, I think it’s really a ‘follow the advice you’re given’ situation as we all have different wounds, dressings and medics. In my case I had one long incision (my index finger plus knuckle) as my surgeon used the same incision for evicting the beast and accessing the sentinel nodes. Others have had 2 smaller incisions. I was definitely told to keep it dry, so I flannel washed then graduated to sitting in a shallow bath so my top half didn’t get wet at all. I can’t remember when I stopped that but it was at least a couple of weeks I think. And again, our lumps are in different places and at different depths so that must affect the wounds and how quickly they heal. It’s a palaver but somehow we get beyond it all and it’s just a memory. My op was over 4 years ago now, don’t know where the time has gone! 
On a positive note I had very little pain afterwards, took paracetamol for the first couple of nights before bed but then stopped as didn’t need it. I did sleep on my back though with pillows supporting me for quite some time. But again, everyone has different experiences. 
Good luck with the op, will be thinking of you. Love and hugs, HFxx 

I had a couple of shallow baths - it was summer though, and used a flannel to wash upper body.  Wish I'd gone to hair dressers for a hair wash though.  She told me I could have popped in as often as I wanted and just gone home to dry it if I found it hard being out or sitting in chair.  

I had flannel washes and washed my hair over the bath until the dressings came off x

Hi Cuffcake,

Thank you so much. I will read your journey. Hope you are in a good place afterwards. Its all a bit terrifying isn't it? I  have a fixed shower head too and a separate bath. Have ordered suction hand grips and a rubber bath mat as the bath isn't easy to get out of.

Very best wishes

Hi Shellbell,

Flannels, maybe a shallow bath and using a jug to wash hair over the bath sound doable.

Thank you and my very best wishes  

Hi Cupcakes,

Thanks  for replying. It's good to know it's all doable.

Best wishes