Obviously I spoke too soon when I said I was feeling OK after WLE and SNB yesterday…today I noticed an odd sloshing noise and sensation which wasn’t coming from my stomach, I finally had to admit it was coming from under the pressure dressing on my boob, some kind of fluid buildup. I called the number given for out of hours on my surgery discharge sheet and went down to the hospital at about 10.45 pm.
Eventually got hold of the nurse who had answered the phone and told me to turn up, she collared a doctor and they both had a look and a feel. Doc says it all looks good and he can’t feel any fluid, wounds are always swollen, the wounds aren’t bleeding or oozing etc. and I went home. But neither this nurse or doctor have any breast cancer experience. Anyway I can definitely feel it now the pressure dressing is off. My surgeon didn’t put any drains in but not everyone does.
Anyone else had something like this? Maybe I’ve discovered a new condition - SBS or Sloshing Boob Syndrome. It’s painless so far but is creeping me out and I suppose I’ll have to wait till I can get hold of my BCN on Monday before I can get any informed advice. Any ideas/experiences from you would help
Don’t panic - I had something similar when I had my 2nd WLE (they didn’t get enough clear margin 1st time).
It sounds like you have got a seroma which is a build up of fluid from (I think) your lymph system. I would call your BCN tomorrow to take some advice but I am pleased to say that mine went down naturally. (Occasionaly, they sometimes drain them for you).
I found that wearing a soft bra prevented it from filling further.
It is a very weird experience having a sloshy boob!!
I had horrid seroma’s after my anc and had them drained more than once. I mentioned it to the surgeon when she was going to have another go at boob and she said she would drain it suring surgery. I’d only had it done a day earlier. No idea what she did, but it never came back.
The scar isn’t too good after keep poking a needle into it now, but far better than a seroma and nice to not look like a penguin.
Ditto, ditto. It may go down naturally fairly soon, but if not, a BCN will drain it for you as often as necessary. In the meantime, wear a soft bra even at night and try a cold pack if it’s uncomfortable. Seromas are not normally serious, just a nuisance.
IF it turns red and hot or you feel feverish, phone for help immediately.
Feel a bit silly after all that. I should have googled before I called the hospital. Duh! I’ve seen seroma mentioned on here but I didn’t know what it was at that point and no-one said anything about it at the clinic or after surgery. I’m new to this game and I’m not up on all the jargon yet, obviously I have a lot of swotting to do, then I’ll be swapping acronyms and research findings with the rest of you…things you wish you didn’t know about, eh?
How long do they take before they go down? Mine is now 2 weeks old.
“wear a soft bra”
No bliddy likely. My seroma is long and right along the line where a bra would sit, from the sternum to the middle of my back. I cannot bear to wear one nor anything vaguely resembling one.
It’s been examined by several professionals. No draining going to happen.
I got seroma from axillary clearance I had done ten days ago. It is most unfomfortable and the feeling of it moving around makes me feel quite ill. I am walking around with my hand on my hip, if I let my arm hang down by my side it is pressing on the seroma. It has got to the point that my grandaughter keeps singing "I’m a little teapot’ to me.
Hi Ninja - 2 weeks after my WLE/SNB mine was going down nicely so I couldn’t hear or feel it - until I had to go back in yesterday and have a “cavity shave” (sounds like a radical Brazilian wax, but not as much fun)and now it’s back to sloshing. Hope it’s going to go down like the last one - but in 2 weeks (just when it’s starting to heal/go down) I’ll get results to tell me if I need a MX :-O. I’m having trouble with bras too, nothing fits and all the seams are right the scar/seroma, but not wearing one is marginally worse as too much movement is painful and creepy/sloshy and sets my teeth on edge. Hey ho, suck it up (figuratively speaking) and carry on…
Sunshine, sorry yours is so big and troublesome. I love the teapot analogy, think I might try that. I feel more like a hot water bottle than a teapot though Yech. Isn’t the human body a wonderful thing?
Hi everyone, Hoping you can offer some advice or just reassure me. After my WLE I had a huge haematoma in my breast and the surgeon decided to leave it until she could drain it when she did my axillary node clearance. However, it had other ideas and decided to make is way out of my scar on its own - horrid black blood - not nice! i then had to dress it and take a course of antibiotics. It didn’t stop entirely though and I had it ‘flushed out’ and re-dressed with tape (I think?)last Tuesday when I had my ANC. thought everything was going really well until this afternoon (a Sunday, typical!)when the taped wound began to leak again - this time a clerer slightly bloody fluid. To be honest it is freaking me out. Thank goodness I was given antibiotics. but of course now I am imagining all the potential horrors: infection, loosing the breast, it never heaing properly etc etc as well as feeling it is probably my fault for doing too much - although yesterday I barely left the sofa. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If you can help or reassure I would be really grateful.
D XX
hi i had my left mx on 14th oct 2011 and got fluid build up and infection not to bad but very messy i was told it might have something to do with being full busted before but dont worry i am fine now had nodes removed 15th nov and feeling fine i have found for me personally only looking on the bright side and keep saying to myself i will beat this bugger wont get the best er of me is working and i am coping fine at present hope this helps you and letting you know you are not on your own we are all in this together and with you all the way you are never alone only a message away from comfort xx
Morning girls just a quick but in. Seromas are very common after breast surgery . A nuisance but they do go although some take longer than others. Particularly if you have had chemo to start with. If left the body will gradually absorb them. It is much easier if your BCN drains it a couple of times a week…not too dry because that encourages the body to think I need nice fluid to help heal here. But enough to lull it into thinking I am not needed anymore. She might send a sample off for culture to make sure there are no bugs lurking.
Haematomas are different. They are just a little oozing blood vessel. They can be harder to drain because they go through a jelly like phase and it is hard to aspirate this. Sometimes antibiotics for some reason stop them quite quickly they revert to a brown liquid and can be drained.
I had both and they DO settle in time. Do not put a tight bra around them as Ninja said. I did this and made matters worse, I caused the problen to go down to my rib areas and caused lympfoedema there.
So slightly tight vest can give comfort and hold things in place but try not to use anything that it too tight.
I hope this helps …but do ring the Helpline they can go through things better than me. Tel 0808 800 6000 9/5pmmonday/Friday and 9-2 pm Saturday . The best times are usually first thing .the lines seen to get busier near closing time and that can limit your call.because of switch off .
Cacklels
Yech. Isn’t the human body a wonderful thing?