Hi All
Has anyone else had a haematoma as a result of breast surgery? I got a haematoma in my breast and had to have a 2nd operation only a few hours after the 1st op. It was quite scary, my breast swelled up so fast and became very tight and sore. That was on 26th Oct and it’s still quite swollen and bruised. It’s also taking a long time for the scars to settle down and stop weeping, because all the fluid from the swelling has to dissipate.
Does anyone know how long it’s likely to take before it all settles down to normal size? I’m getting very fed up with it hurting.
Sarah x
I had a haematoma following mx. It was swollen and blue/black looking, that is the blood in the tissue and also was hard and quite sore. I was told that they didn’t want to do anymore surgery as if they remove it, it leaves a ‘gap’ and that again fills with fluid/blood. I was told it would go away on its own but could take months.
I gently massaged it downwards towards my belly button with bio oil, a bit each day (only around 3/4 mins) and to be honest it did go away quite quicker than I thought - it took around 2 months in all.
x
Hello there CheshireCheese!
Like you, I had to go down again within a few hours - they drained just over 700mls from me n then gave me three lots of blood. But… they’re very reluctant to take you down to theatre arent they! I had my ops a few days before you - on the 15th & 16th Oct, so just to reassure you, the bruising will go, n if you’re like me, it wont be too long before it goes. As for the pain n swelling, I still have swelling and hardness, n by evening time the pain is quite bad n I have to take paracetamol and ibuprofen together to help with it. For me though, the swelling is the worst problem.
It’s daunting that it’s not going to go away as quickly as we’d like it to, isnt it? It’s an excellent idea of Saffronseed’s to use the bio oil to massage it downwards. I’m going to try that myself. (By the way, hello Saffronseed, hope you are ok!)
I havent had the problem with my scar weeping so can only empathise with what that must be like. Have you spoken to your district nurse or BCN about it, cos I wonder if they could apply a special sort of dressing which could help to heal the scar quicker for you?
Take care of yourself! xxx
Hi saffronseed & Shelley61
Thanks for your quick replies; this has really been getting me down. Yes, my boob went blue/black looking and a similar size to Jordan! Massage sounds a good idea but I’d better not do that yet because the wounds are too soft and weepy. I’ll try massage as soon as I can. I didn’t have any trouble getting them to operate again, the only problem was that I’d eaten so much after I came round from the first op that they had to wait 6 hours while I digested that – ended up with the 2nd op at midnight! (Their fault for making me starve from midnight the night before then not starting the 1st op until 11.30am!)
I’ve been getting the dressings changed every day for the last week or so, using all sorts of fancy dressings, and they’ve swabbed it and not found any nasties, but it’s still getting quite wet and so not healing as well as it could. Quite difficult to cope with. I’m supposed to be wearing a bra 24/7 but I’m doing without it this evening and taken all the dressings off just for a few hours to see if that will help things dry.
Sarah x
P.S. shelley61 your cat looks it could be my cat’s sister!
Had a haematoma 2 months ago and still have a bit of swelling and some hardness but the pain has gone. :)I think I will try the bio oil if it gets worse after my next operation. After the blue/black, mine went green and yellow!
Hi again CheshireCheese!
Oh, hope those wounds soon clear up - it must be really frustrating for you. I know what you mean about leaving the dressings off for a few hours to try to help the area dry out. Hope that’s done some good!
My cat is a little female, n yours is very pretty and looks very similar to mine. Ruthie is nearly 14 - her eyes probably arent as beautiful as your cat’s, cos she had cat flu as a kitten and she’s got only about 10percent vision and her eyes are murky. You can’t see the colour of them. But she makes up for that by having a gorgeous personality. I woke up this morning to her sat on her hind legs, padding on my arm with her front paws. She looked so cute!
So take care with those wounds, n please let us know how you go on. It’s hard when you dont know how long the swelling will last - but when you hear other people’s experiences, you can at least psyche yourself up for it n not feel alone, can’t you, instead of thinking “is this going on too long?”
Love to you, n also Saffronseed, and Gwendolyn! xxx
Oh dear, two months before it clears up! How on earth am I going to make a living as a glamour model in the meantime :o)?
Hi Saffronseed - once the wounds calm down a bit I’m looking forward to following your massage idea using some rosehip oil that my sister gave me - full of vitamins A and E.
Hi Gwendolyn, thanks for your feedback. I seem to have gone straight from black/purple to that dull grey colour that takes ages to clear, without going through the fun rainbow bit first!
Hi Shelley61 - thanks for the sympathy; some bits are improving, others still to be regarded as a work in progress. Seeing the consultant on Tuesday so hopefully get more info then. As for cats, mine is a very large female (who says pets look like their owners?) 16 years old, and getting very demanding in her old age. You might have thought it cute to find Ruthie patting your arm first thing this morning, but you might not be so impressed when she realises it gets a result and does it EVERY morning at 6.30am! Don’t respond - you are making a rod for your own back!
Sarah x