Hello, I had WLE and SNLB on Monday 30/12 and am recovering well. My follow up appointment has just been moved from 6/1 to 20/1, I queried this with the hospital and have been told there is no clinic on 13/1, this will be 3 weeks from surgery to anyone removing my dressing/stitiches and cheking the wounds, this seems like a long time, is this normal/ok?
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I should contact your BCN in the morning to see what they would advise you to do . My surgery was done during lockdown and though I was supposed to have a face to face appointment for results etc. my Consultant got COVID and was unable to go into work so it became a phone appointment .I removed my own dressings 14 days after surgery as instructed , for me there were no stitches and it was an easy task as the dressings had started to peel off on their own anyway . However I’m a Nurse and felt reasonably confident doing this - if they don’t want you to touch it or you do not feel confident doing it perhaps the BCNs will see you or they may advise you to make an appointment with your GP Practice Nurse . Xx
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Hi @mandyo
I’m not sure the nurses on here are on duty over the weekend. If it helps, I was referred to a district nurse (based at my GP surgery) They saw me twice before my hospital follow up which was 2.5 weeks later. They checked healing and removed steri strips, and re-dressed. Perhaps give your breast nurse a call on Monday and ask if you can do that. It will give you some assurance everything is OK.
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Hi mandyo, hope you are recovering well. After my lumpectomy, I was told not to remove dressings or steristrip as it would be done at my follow up. That was 3 weeks later. I did think it was a long time to keep them in place, but just done as I was told. Everything was fine - they were just a bit grotty !
Best wishes x
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I would call your breast care nurse/team if you can, the booking staff can’t advise on clinical things. The BCN nurses are back from 9-1 tomorrow so you could phone 0808 800 6000 and see if they can help.
I was told to remove my own dressings and Steri strips at 2 weeks, it was a bit of a faff, my husband helped as I was bi lateral (both) but I have read others go to clinic for them to remove. Unlike @JoanneN im not medically trained but it was standard practice in my trust.
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I apologise for saying to ring your BCN tomorrow - I’ve lost track of the days of the week due to it being New Year and forgot that it’s Saturday tomorrow . I meant call them on Monday . Have you been told that you have any stitches to remove - quite often now there aren’t any stitches to remove . If you have been given a copy of your hospital discharge letter it may say on there but your BCN would know . Xx
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Hi all, thanks for replies.
Yes I have stitches that need to be removed.
Notes say dressings to be removed at clinic review. Follow up clinic in 2 weeks.
But there is no clinic that week so it will now be 3 weeks.
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I should check with your BCN then on Monday in case they want you to have a wound check and more importantly stitches removed a bit earlier. Xx
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The secretary did say she checked with the consultant if they wanted to see me earlier to get it checked but the consultant said 3 weeks was fine, do you still think I should check with bcn?
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To be honest I think I would if it were me . And ask particularly if it is ok to leave your stitches in for another week. Also my dressings were starting to peel off on their own coming up to the 2 week mark and we’re making my skin itch. If it had been another week they would have been off anyway . As you do the exercises and become more active you may find it starts to do the same. I don’t know what instructions you’ve been given for showering etc but if you are restricted then why should you have to be for longer than necessary. Xx
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Hello Mandyo
Thank you for posting.
After a wide local excision and sentinal lymph node biopsy, stitches which are not dissolvable are usually removed 7-14 days after surgery. In some cases, this might be a bit longer. As others have experienced, after a couple of weeks the dressings often start to become loose. Sometimes the area around the stitches can begin to feel a little dry and itchy too.
As @JoanneN and @naughty_boob suggest, it would be sensible to call your breast care nurse for advice. If they feel that waiting 3 weeks is too long they may suggest you see your practice nurse or district nurse who as @Sal1 said, could check the wound and remove the stitches for you.
You may find this booklet on recovering from surgery helpful. You could also call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen, talk things through and signpost you to additional support and information if necessary. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks. The number is 0808 800 6000, (Relay UK -prefix 18001).
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