Incision healing

Had a bilateral mastectomy with Goldilocks reconstruction on 4/2/2024 and my wound healing has been slowly getting worse. My doctor is making me feel like I am crazy but I ended up in the hospital after one concern I called for and the urgent care for another all of which they said was normal and I didn’t have to go in. Just left the ER trying to get someone to look at me and they didn’t want to step on my surgeons toes and because they could not get a hold of him so they just said everything looks normal. Note that the time I went to urgent care through a different hospital they said I have cellulitis but when following up with my dr he said what I had was not bad and would not say it was an infection. Any thoughts on the picture attached?

[Moderator note: Image removed in accordance with our photography guidance]

Hi 808girl

Thank you for posting.

It’s understandable you would like to ask our thoughts on your wound healing following your recent breast surgery. It must be distressing situation for you, and it may be affecting lots of aspects of your life right now. Sometimes it does unfortunately take longer than expected and can be very upsetting as there are also a number of reasons why wounds may be slow to heal.

It is difficult to comment on individual cases and unfortunately, we have a policy that does not permit us to comment on the photo you sent us.

As you are looking for advice going forward and it sounds like you’re concerned with the slow healing of your wounds and care being provided by your hospital, do talk to a member of your treatment team as soon as possible. You could speak to your breast care nurse (if you have one) or GP who may be able to help you to resolve some of the problems you’re experiencing.

It may be worthwhile asking if there is a nurse who specialises in delayed wound healing in your hospital. They are sometimes called tissue viability nurses. This can sometimes be helpful under the supervision of your breast surgeon.

If you are unable to resolve your concerns the hospital, where you are having your treatment will have an organisation that may be able to help you for example in England these are known as PALS department.

You could ask if there is anything you can do to promote your healing such as thinking about you dietary intake such as ensuring you have sufficient nutrients such as protein as this can help with wound healing.

Talking to someone who has had a similar experience can often be helpful. Our Someone Like Me service can match you with a trained volunteer who’s had a similar experience to you. You can be in touch with your volunteer by phone or email and they can share their personal experiences to answer your questions, offer support or simply listen to how you are feeling.

You can ring the Someone Like Me team on 0114 263 6490 or email them at someone.likeme@breastcancernow.org, so they can then match you to your volunteer.

Do 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 more 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).

If you would prefer one of our nurses to call you. To do this, please complete this form ticking the box agreeing to a call back.

Our usual opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm and 9am -1pm on Saturday.

We are closed on Monday the 6th of May for the bank holiday.

Out of hours you can leave a message and we will call you back when we next open.

Best wishes

Helen

Breast Care Nurse

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