hello
i had an ANC on Jan 12th. about a week after shortly after the drains came out a seroma emerged right near my armpit. I had it drained and about 80ml came out. however by the time i got home it was nearly as large as before i went. i managed to leave it for a week. i then went to the hospital for a briefing on radiotherapy treatment and they advised draining. 200ml came out. that was last wed. i’ve woken up this morning and it is getting big again…any advice anyone? any magic tricks to get rid of this thing? it is sore this time, perhaps because it is near my under arm and my bra rubs against it. thanks in advance
jo
xxx
Jo
I had ANC on 9th January and just the same as you it didn’t start until about a week after the surgery. It has been drained twice since, second time because I was walking around with my arm stuck out as couldn’t put it by my side! It has filled again but my GP advised me to stick with it if I could and it would disperse but not to let it get too big again. I think I will need it drained again after the weekend but I have noticed it is taking slightly longer to fill up each time. I find a little relief by putting a semi frozen damp tea towel under my arm for a while - not a magic trick but does offer some relief. Not a lot of help I know but you are not alone. What other treatment will you be having? I start on chemo w/b 18th Feb, 3 x FEC and 3 x Taxotere then radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Hope it goes down soon
Di
xxx
Hi Jo and Di
Just to let you know that you are welcome to call the specialist breast care nurses on our helpline for further advice on how to manage a seroma if you wish to, it’s open until 2pm today then reopens Monday at 9am -5pm on 0808 800 6000.
You can read previous threads on this subject by typing ‘seromas’ into the ‘search’ facility at the top of this page, you may find further helpful information this way too.
Best wishes
Lucy
Hello Jo and Di
I had my WLE and axillary clearance in December 06. My seroma appeared about 10 days after surgery. I had it drained 4 times altogether. Jo - just like yours - mine filled up on the way home the first time. Each time it was drained they got less fluid out and it took longer to fill up. After the 4th time it filled up a little but then gradually settled down by itself. I still remember how very uncomfortable it was. I do hope you both feel better soon.
Anthi x
thanks all for the advice and reassurance. it is still v.swollen and sore. i did call the bcc bcn lucy and that was useful but she said i need to get it checked out on monday which i will do. di. i’ve already had chemo (not great but not so awful), two rounds of surgery and just about to embark on surgery. good luck with your treatment.
jo
xx
Hi Jo
I had my WLE and ANC in Jan 2005 - 3 years ago. I produced lots of seroma which was really uncomfortable - Like having a tennis ball in your armpit!. I had it drained every other day for 5 weeks because it was so uncomfortable and they got 100 - 150mls out each time until the last week when it slowed down. I know they can be reluctant to drain because of the risk of infection. I can’t offer advice on how to relieve it. I just propped my arm on a pillow when I was sitting down and walked round with my arm out the rest of the time. If you get cording in your arm once the seroma calms down, I found gentle massage helped .
Good luck
fantan
my goodness fantan what a marathon…mine was horribly sore yesterday, today its still quite big but much less sore…i’m being measured for rads today so i’m really hoping that can go ahead…
jo
x
I had a my recon surgery on 2 Jan. Discharged on 9th Jan. When 3 drains were also removed. I got a massive seroma on my back like a hot water bottle. Resisted having it drained as was advised against it. Now 4.5 weeks post surgery and it is starting to go down at long last.
Hi I woke up this morning and my underarm seems to be getting lumpy again. I had my op.(WLE and AXL) on Dec 27th and I have had one needle drainage and a session with the breast equivalent of a colestomy bag stuck to me for a week when the seroma found the point of least resistance ie the last stitch and started leaking out. Since then I have been left with hard lumpy areas all along the scar area and one persistant area on the breast. I don’t really want to keep dragging my poor husband 13 miles to Bath again as he also cares for his nearly 100 year old mother and he will have to do it when I have chemo etc. Can I just live with it and it will go away eventually?
hi jenny
the wisdom seems to be that it will all just disappear at some point. i’ve had mine drained three times now and want to give ‘leaving it’ a try. why don’t you call your bcn and have a chat. glad yours is getting smaller mandy!
jo
xx
Thanks joanna i don’t think it is too bad so I’ll carry on and stop worrying about it.