surgical dressings

I had a brown type tape, this stayed on for about 8 days, I kept it as dry as possible especially for first few days.  I ended up taking it off myself. I  got a reaction to the surgical glue so had a red and itchy rash all over chest. Keep an eye for any redness, heat or swelling. Speak to BCN on Monday, the surgeon will normally remove any dressing at check up. Hope you are doing ok. Anna x

Thanks Anna, it's at least two weeks til my appointment with the surgeon, so I'm not sure if the dressings will still be on by then. I will definately ring the bcn's on Monday though , thanks for replying x

Hi rebblespad, I had a big dressing as only one long incision to get to the lump and the nodes. I didn’t dare shower for a good while! I flannel washed my top half and sat in a shallow bath for the rest. I was given spare dressings from the hospital but the breast nurse made the mistake of phoning me the day after, by which time the original dressing was a bit stained, so I took up her offer of going to the clinic the next day for a dressing change. All this was well pre Covid. Hubby then had to be brave and do the next change at the weekend. I went back to the clinic the following week because by then I had a rather impressive haematoma so they wanted to keep an eye on it. There was talk of draining it if necessary but in the end they left well alone and it gradually resolved. During all this time I managed fine with flannel and bath and was never smelly! I was just too worried that I’d get it all wet. 
But everyone’s op is different depending on location of the beast, size and position of incision, etc. 
Definitely get advice from the bc nurses, I found them very reassuring. HFxx

Thanks for replying HappyFeet1 xx   I have a serotoma now..... it sounds and feels like just when you prod a hot water bottle! Will definately be ringing the nurses in the morning now. Also, still feeling so tired and drained and my legs are wobbly... although I got out for my first real walk post surgery..... only half an hour, but it was enough, for how weak \i felt.

Ooh yes there have been previous posts re the hot water bottle effect! Definitely share with the nurses and get some advice. Half an hour sounds more than enough at your stage, I think I went for a similar (or less) time at that point. The anaesthetic takes a good while to get out of your system, not to mention the general 'shock' feeling of the whole thing. Take it easy and just do what you feel up to. 

Let us know how it's going, Love and and a very gentle hug, HFxx

rebblespad Hi rebblespad, 

I have the same surgical tape and had the same surgery as you on 16/1/21.  

My surgeon told me to leave the tape on for 4 weeks if I wanted to get the best outcome re scaring.  So two weeks on I still have it and have been showering regularly from the start and have had no problems, it is still firmly in place.

When the 4 weeks are up I will carefully remove it - probably in the shower.  I will contact my surgeon or BCN first just to make sure I can remove it myself.

oh that's interesting, thanks for sharing that with me! I'm going to ring the nurses today anyway, re the seroma, but thanks for letting me know. \hope you're having a good recovery xxx

Hi HappyFeet1, Thanks for replying, boob seems more swollen and harder than yesterday, less wobbly but definately bigger and still some water wobbling going on.  Today i woke up and feel more normal, less whoozy than I have done all week, so it's getting there xxx

Thanks rebblespad, recovery is going well.  I had a seroma too in my armpit, which was drained (about 60ml removed) and then within a few hours it was back.  It can take a few goes before it goes apparently so don't worry if it comes back.

I haven't had it drained again as my boob is also swollen so I'm sure it will just come back.  It's not causing me any bother so hoping my body will just deal with it in time.

If you are into homeopathy then phosphorus 200c is what I took and I didn't have any side effects from the anaesthetic, I felt completely fine from day 1.  

Hope your recovery is going well too.

xx

Hey Godwilling, glad you're doing ok!  I've felt very whoozy up til today since my op last Tuesday. My boob is quite swollen with fluid, but the nurses told me on the phone, that they want to leave it unless it gets uncomfortable so we shall see... my lefty was always my smaller one and i feared after it had a lump cut out it would be much smaller.... now it's nearly a half size bigger than my right! let's see how it goes!

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