Lymph Node Removal

Hi Nanette I had wide local excison of scar on right calf  and a groin dissection with drain and bottle in March as the melanoma had spread to my lymph nodes in groin from calf (stage 3 cancer) I had the operation on the Monday and came home Wednesday .felt very fatigue .district nurses came for 5 days to dress the wounds .then I was ok to do this myself .changing the bottle was easy to do from day one .the hospital gave me a little bag to carry it in .some days you might get a small leak from the drain but I used folded kitchen paper and plastic bag on top t o save me having to keep changing clothes .i was told to wear cycling shorts 24 hours a day for six weeks to help prevent lymphedema .i did end up with a seroma which had to be drained 3 times but the nurses at your hospital will help you through this hard time .i think if your also caring for your husband you might be wise to get help for a week or two .as you will need to rest and you do have to be careful with a groin scar with bending etc  and not catching your drain on anything around the house .i wish u all the best for your operate 

Hello J.pops .... and thank you for taking the time to answer my post.  It is really useful to listen to someone who has had this experience already and the more information the better ... it is the "not knowing" that makes things more of a worry.

So, thank you once again for the info. and for your good wishes.  God bless.

Hi Nanette Been thinking of you today ,just thought of a couple more things I brought a couple of long nighties and a couple of maxi dresses as I found it easier with having the drain than if I was wearing trousers .also the nurses told me to wear non elastic knickers around the leg (like French knickers) to help to prevent lymphedema .please try not to worry ,just take one day at a time .two weeks after the op  I was having little walks in the country side .7 months on and all I have to show for it now is 2 very neat long scars and a dimple were the drain was .please feel free to ask me any questions take care 

Hi nanetta. I had the same as you are have last year in August  it was ok  i had problems with infected seroma, and went back to hospital where they put another drain in , i was very tired for a while and i have some lympedema  ,it took a little while about 4 months  but i didn't get a nurse in just managed on my own, but as im 85, i m doing really well back to usual   these things are not nearly as bad as you imagine  good luck

X

Hi again, J.pops ........ Thank you for your email ... much appreciated. I already have the long dresses/skirts which I wore after the leg melanoma op.  But I have no nightdresses or French knickers(!) so I'll stock up on them now.  Thank you once again.

Hello Betful..... nice to hear from you.  You sound a very independent lady.  The thing is as I'm a carer my need is to get back to good health as soon as possible so I will be taking all the help I can get !  Thank you for taking the time to answer my post.  All good wishes.