I had a WLE & SNB 10 days ago. 5 days after surgery the area around the SNB wound became swollen and sore. I ended up going to see my BCN on Friday and she said I had a seroma so she drained it and although it still felt sore it didn’nt feel so badly swollen and painful. By Saturday morning I could feel the swelling return and by this evening its become bigger than it was before I had it drained on Friday!
The nurse said that seromas can recur for ages and that eventually they are reabsorbed back into the body. She said I could go and have it drained again though if it was too uncomfortable. Have other people had this experience? Did you keep having to have it drained? How long did it go on for? What helped? Anything else I can do?
Hi Jacqui,
After my mx and immediate LD recon I had a back seroma that recurred and peaked at about 600ml in one draining (that was a week’s worth) the nurse told me she’d once drained a 7l (7000ml) seroma!
At the hospital I was at, after three weeks they gave me a steroid injection into the site after it had been drained and it never returned. It may be worth asking if they can do this for you if it doens’t resolve after a couple of drainings.
There are several seroma threads on here, some posts by people who’ve had them very long time, so you are not alone, but be aware that you could get dmeoralised by the worst experiences reported.
I’ve had mine drained twice so far. 640 mls then 450 mls, so it is getting less although it doesn’t always feel like it! And like you, I can feel it filling again within 24 hours. Am getting it drained weekly and will have it done again on Thursday. My BCN thinks another 2 should do the trick
I was given a little heart shaped cushion by my BCN (to put under my arm) which helps a lot, especially when trying to sleep. Didn’t bother trying cold packs as it’s completely numb under there anyway!
Don’t suffer with it, and I hope it starts to get better soon
Thanks Revcat and dotflot for sharing your experiences. 7000ml - gosh think that might be more than my actual breast! I will ask about the steroid injection and the heart shaped pillow when I am at the hospital this week.
I also had a problem with seromas after my double mx. It did take quite a while to settle, I think I probably had them drained about 6 or 7 times in total and there was quite a lot of fluid usually 500 mls at a time.
Then one time I had them drained and they didn’t refill - it was amazing. It just all started to heal up.
It does vary so much from person to person from what I’ve been told. Don’t get despondent though, it’s horribly uncomfortable but it will get better. Elinda x
