Stupid Seroma!

laurissa said:

What is seroma? I also had a lumpectomy 4 months ago and now have some hard scar tissue form while I was radiating. But I dont have any swelling going on. I do feel like I can't fully stretch my arm up, its stiff. Yes, the fun keeps on going.

missrenee said:

Vicki
So glad things are finally going right for you at last! I don't think you would be suffering from this--from what I understand it can develop from a lumpectomy since they are removing tissue but the breast remains. I guess something tries to occupy that vacant space. Oh well, this too shall pass!

aisling8 said:

don't if it's help, but...
I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy beginning of March and everything was great, healing fast fast fast, back to work, walking, everything. Then I got a seroma under my arm. Didn't hurt, exactly, just uncomfortable. Went to surgeon, she drained it, reassured me it was normal, blah blah blah. It filled back up. Had it drained. Happened again, this next time, though, she said it was now a hematoma (filled with blood instead of clear fluid) and put me on antibiotics. It kinda went away on its own after that.

I'll tell you, though, the first time it showed up, it bothered me and that was the ONLY time I cried. It was just so darn annoying. I never cried about diagnosis or anything after, but that one day got to me.

Best of luck with your situation.

Victoria

m_azingrace said:

Seroma?
Sorry, missrenee, I don't know what that is. It sounds uncomfortable, so I hope you get relief quickly. Hugs. Gracie

missrenee said:

I should have explained more fully
A seroma is a fluid-filled mass. The rad. onc. said when you have a lumpectomy with a considerable amount of tissue removed, a pocket forms. This pocket can then fill with fluid which sort of hardens a little. Apparently, they can be reabsorbed naturally, but mine feels so big--I'm wondering. Since I'm in the middle of rads right now, I don't know if this will get worse or bigger Hope not! So far, the surgeon, rad. onc. and regular onc. don't seem too concerned so maybe I'm just bein' a big baby!

Hugs, Renee

Hi - On 2/5/21 I had a unilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery (silicone implant) and the removal of 3 lymph nodes.  Pathology reports back and all good  - no cancer in lymph nodes and clear margins.  But -  6 days after surgery a baseball size seroma grew in the front of my underarm area.   Had it drained one week after the surgery; it reappeared within 2 days.  Now what?  It is annoying, becomes painful by evening.    Any advice?

Missesmm said:

Seromas Suck!

Four weeks after my last chemo, I had a lumpectomy and 3 lymph nodes removed (1/26/21).  Within a few days, I was in SEVERE pain!! I could tell I had nerve damage under my arm, down my arm to my elbow, and around my back (shoulder blade area).  The pain pills did not help and I have a high pain tolerance. A week after surgery, the surgeon called to tell me all pathology reports came back - negative for cancer.  Praise God!!

I told him about being in extreme pain and he said that nerve damage is common after this type surgery and would likely go away.  I did notice my arm getting better, but my underarm burned and felt like I was squeezing a nerf ball between my side and arm.  Then the pain came back with a vengeance! Two weeks post-surgery, I had my follow-up with my surgeon.  As soon as he heard how much pain I was still in and that it actually seemed to be getting worse, he said that he knew exactly what it was.  He pulled out the ultrasound machine and confirmed I had a dark pocket under my arm.  Then he got a syringe, stuck it in the surgery site and filled the syringe 8 times. It was yellow serous fluid that he pulled out. In addition to what he pulled out, quite a bit more of it ran down my back. My husband watched and almost threw up.  I was still numb and didn't feel it, but it grossed me out.  I had IMMEDIATE relief!  The surgeon sent me home and told me to keep pressure on the area as much as possible, ice it regularly, and eat lots of egg whites because the albumin would help in healing. That night, I could feel it already filling back up while I lay in bed.  I had a 2nd follow-up a week later and a repeat...a little less fluid was pulled out this time.  I had followed his instructions about pressure, icing, and egg whites.  He sent me home and told me to continue.  Same thing again - I could feel the space under my arm filing up with fluid.  Onenight I slept with my arm over my head because it provided me some relief and it actually gave the fluid more room to fill. The space under my arm got harder and harder, bigger and bigger.  So uncomfortable and I was not sleeping.  I called the surgeon's office for a 3rd follow-up.  When I went in I told him how bad this was stressing me out.  I had completed chemotherapy prior to surgery and need to start Radiation therapy within 10 weeks.  I was at 9 weeks post-chemo this past Monday (5 weeks post-surgery).  He said that he wanted to put a drain in this time.  We "popped right over" to Day Surgery (unscheduled and the Day Surgery team was less than thrilled) and I was prepped for him to numb me and then cut open my scar from the lymph node removal...I was not anesthetized. He could not get into the pocket under my arm, even using all of his might.  He tried 3 times.  He said "I thought there was fluid, but this is scar tissue." I told him that I was 100% sure there was fluid in there and that I was not going to spend the rest of my life with this "hard ball" under my arm that was causing me pain.  He tried one more time, doing everything but straddling the operating table.  The nurse and tech in the room were freaking out.  I was afraid that he was going to break the needle off in me or go thru the other side and it was nerve-wracking.  Then fluid came rushing out.  He put a drain in with a long line and a bulb that catches the fluid.  He put 2 stitches into my skin and around the drain line, to keep it attached to me. Then sealed the rest with surgical glue. I have had it for 4 days now and it sucks.  It gets clogged and you have to carefully unclog it.  The line is really long and I get it caught on door knobs and cabinet knobs and have to worry about yanking the line out of myself.  I am sleeping sitting up on the sofa every night so that I don't pull out the line or clog it.  2 days ago the line got clogged right where it is coming out of my underarm.  My husband helped me, but pinching the tube and rolling it to get rid of the clot, made the glue pull away on one side of the tube. For 24 hours the yellow serous fluid was draining into my shirt and bra.  Thank goodness I work from home.  I had to call the surgeon's office 3 times within 24 hours to see if I could get it fixed.  The 3rd time, the nurse told me just to slap a huge blob of neosporin on the leaky side and tape gauze over it.  That actually worked and it's draining properly again, but now I can't take a shower or bath.....I have to empty the contents a few times a day and measure the amount to see when it is slowing down enough to get the drain out.  For 2 days I couldn't tell because of the leak.  I just had a 24 hour collection tally and it is almost the same amount as 4 days ago when it was first put in...I am so frustrated and so stressed.  This really really sucks.  I thought surgery recovery was going to be the "easy" part of all of this.  By the way, it is impossible to keep pressure on your underarm...........just saying. I am now heading into 10 weeks post-chemo and cannot get scheduled for Radiation because of this.  I am praying the fluid production slows down drastically over the next few days. 

Wow - that is one amazing seroma story.  I am so sorry!    Mine appeared on 2/12/21 - one week post mastectomy surgery.  All of a sudden - a baseball grew under my arm.  I have had it drained 3 times now.  I have to say that after the 3rd draining, it has come back, but it is starting to get a tiny bit smaller each day.  My doc says it will eventually absorb - may take weeks or months.     I also had a drain in after my mastectomy (not related to the seroma).  I had it for 25 days - I know what you mean about how annoying it is, how the tube gets caught on things, how you can't sleep comfortably.  I had it out 5 days ago and the hole where the tube went in is stil draining a bit - have to change the bandages twice a day.  But - I think the hole will be sealed off in another couple days.   One thing that helped me slow down the fluid production was when one of the docs told me to stop moving so much.  I thought I was supposed to keep moving my arms to keep them from stiffening up.  I did stop moving - only use my arms for typing and no carrying and no exercise -and the fluid slowed down.      Good luck to you!    Jane