Stitches opened after lumpectomy

Hi Angel786

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and that your wound opened and you need to have the stiches redone.  While this didn't happen to me I thought I'd reply anyway and welcome you to the Macmillan community.  I'm sure someone will be along shortly to share their experience with you.  In the meantime why not reach out to one of the volunteers on the helpline who I'm sure will be able to give you some comfort.  This is the link to the helpline: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/get-help..

Wishing you the best of luck with the rest of your treatment whatever it may be.

Best wishes

Daisy53

Thank you Daisy53 for your message. I will actually contact the team for emotional support at some point. I’m new here so I am just navigating through this community forum. Thanks so much x 

Hi Angel786 and another warm welcome to the forum. My more recent lumpectomy didn’t reopen but did gather a rather large haematoma which was alarming, and very colourful, but did slowly resolve. I was a frequent visitor to the breast clinic in the first couple of weeks post  op as there was a chance they’d have to drain it. Unpleasant but ok in the end. It took much longer to heal than I had expected; I had told my school that I’d be off for 2 weeks and ended up being off for 4 months!! This covered my radiotherapy too plus 4 weeks after it finished. All of it was so much more than I’d envisaged. My rads were delayed through waiting for my oncology appointment and then Christmas and New Year, but I was actually glad in the end as I needed the healing time. 
Also, a previous lumpectomy about 15 years ago ‘gaped’ - I felt like I could see into the wound - so the GP practice nurse sealed it up with a row of steri strips which felt so much better. Not quite the same situation as yours but thought I’d share my experiences just to say that it’s definitely not always straightforward. Good luck with it all, do ask for support and don’t hesitate to contact the breast clinic with anything that doesn’t feel right. Hope it all feels better after Thursday, you must feel at the moment that it’s 2 steps forward, 1 step back when you just want everything to move on smoothly. Love and gentle hugs, HFxx 

Thanks so much HappyFeet1 for sharing your experience and giving me some comfort. I too feel that I can see into my wound which really freaked me out. My consultant also saw my wound but was not overly alarmed but just casually booked me in for restiching the gap with actual stitches that will need to be removed after I heal rather than glue ( I forgot the medical term used for the glue sorry!!)

I didn’t expect complications as I thought it was just a straightforward procedure, but as you mentioned, there can be a few hiccups and recovery can take longer than expected. I was actually thinking after 2 weeks i will be back to normal! 

Thanks once again for putting my mind at ease. I hope everything goes well for you x 

Hi, sorry to hear you are having problems. i had a haematoma the day after my lumpectomy and ended up having a second operation to remove it. I then got a seroma which opened the wound. It took a while to heal. My breast care nurses were excellent. I would advise keeping in touch with yours if you are worried and let them know straightaway if you experience any further problems. Try to take things one step at a time. Wishing you the best of luck with everything. 

Thank you so much for your response. I hope all goes well for you x 

Hi Angel my lumpectomy was fine but I had a full axillary node clearance after that and like you my wound opened but due to infection. I had antibiotics from my GP which helped and got in touch with the hospital breast care nurses and they have been brilliant. They cleaned and re dressed it but best of all have loads of reassurance. Please contact them directly if you have any concerns. They are specialists and have seen it all before so know exactly what to do. Hope it goes well and heals soon.

Thanks so much for your response. I too had a lumpectomy and lymph node clearance. The pain was unbearable!
I’m glad it turned out ok for you in the end. Hope everything is going well for you now x 

My wound opened about 1cm.  I was referred to district nurses who dressed twice a week with manuka honey until it closed.  Took a few weeks to heal fully. 

Still waiting for it to heal. Find out results in 5th March so will have a better idea on next steps. It's all do-able ! Just take very good care of yourself and be selfish - put yourself first and ask for help when you need it!