lump after surgery?

mittmott

I'm curious. I have a lump where my scar from mast meets the scar from lat flap reconstruction, right on the triangle part of the scar on my breast. I've asked the plastic surgeon about it, and he feels it's probably scar tissue.  I told him probably isn't a good enough answer for me, and he said that when I see my breast surgeon on aug. 1, my 6 month visit after surgery, to ask her to do a biopsy to be sure.  I know in advance, that she will make faces about it, telling me that they are  99 percent sure it's scar tissue, but I feel I want a 100% answer.  It's my life after all. The part I'm curious about, how many of you have gotten hard lumps after surgery that may be scar tissue. This lump is about the size of a lima bean.  It doesn't seem to be growing, it's just real hard, and  sometimes painful when I push on it.Does this seem to be common?  Thanks .

puppyholic

I posted the same question a little while ago and just got a couple of posts. I found a lump under my arm. I was going to make an appointment with my bs but haven't been able to find the darn lump again. I'm supposed to go back in October for a mammo so unless I can relocate the lump I guess I'll wait until then. Scary isn't it? Look up my other post. I had a bilat diep last Sept.

Beesie

I think scar tissue lumps are pretty common although I never had one.  But I agree with you completely - I would insist on a needle biopsy. 

mittmott

Hi thanks. Puppyholic , I couldn't find your post about a lump after surgery..  I hate this new format. 

puppyholic

It was June 24 under the Breast Recon forum.

MinAZ

Mittmott - Insist that they check it!  A gal here found at least one lump along the mastectomy line - just as she was about to start recont. I don't know other details but her BC biopsied it and it was cancer again.

Minz

mittmott

Oh MinAZ, I'm going to insist.. I'm pretty sure that they are right, it's scar tissue, but I want to be one hundred percent sure. I mentioned it to my neurologist the other day (still trying to find relief from nerve pain in arm after mast), and he agreed, we must be sure.

MinAZ

Good! We'll all hope it's just scar tissue; let us know!

Minz 

mittmott

Will do.   Got about 2 more weeks to go.

mittmott

Well, saw surgeon today.  She won't do needle biopsy, due to implants, said it needs to be a surgical biopsy, so I went for pre op, and I'm having it cut out Tuesday. She said it looks like scar tissue or fat necrosis, but no way to be 100% sure without biopsy.  This will be my  4th operation since Oct.  i might as well take a bed in the or, I'm getting to know them well (lol).  At least I won't have to wait long for this to be over.

pod1257

My lump was checked and turned out to be scar tissue and some fat necrosis. My surgeon was very concerned when SHE felt it at my exam. I had had bilateral IGAP in March 07. I saw her in July 07. She said, "Didn't you feel this?!" Scared me to death. She did an in office extraction of cells on a Friday. We went on vacation to Florida, Sat., so all wk I was a basket case and basically planning my funeral. Didn't want to know the results till we got back.

Since then, I have heard fat necrosis is very common with reconstruction.

Julie

MinAZ

Mittmott - Good that the BS is taking you seriously, but let's pray for it to be scar tissue. I had fat necrosis on my 'lift' side. It was not excised - it was able to drain through the exisiting incisions. It was a major inconvenience but it's pretty much resolved itself although it took a few months.

Minz 

mittmott

Hi, I 'm not too worried about it being anything, because I have to go with the odds. I had only stage 1 the first time, and mostly dcis with a microinvasion this time (so again stage 1), and the odds of cancer coming back  with a mastectomy are very small.  I do believe it's only scar tissue or fat necrosis, but I have to be sure.  It's just the unpleasentness of another operation. I know it's a tiny operation, but it's still going back to that darn operating room for the  4th time since Oct. I'm burned out from this already. I feel I have not fully recovered .  I've been blaming it on the anesthesia, and morphine, and all those poisons, my doc blames it on pain (I've had non relenting arm pain from nerve damage) since the first operation.  I'm always tired (exhausted).. I say it's all the poisons in my body, and now I'm adding more, the doc thinks I'm exhausted because I have the constant pain.  Whatever, I'm sick  of it all.  It's like the never ending story.

puppyholic

I know what you mean mittmott! I had 2 excisional biopsies and my bilat diep in 2007. Then my stage 2 and 3 in 2008 so far. Plus I've had 3 paps so far one in nov and 2 this year and am scheduled for one in 2 weeks because my pap came back atypical. That doesn't include all the mri's, mammos, and needle biopsies! Will it ever end. I haven't had my lump checked out yet, but I guess I have to now. Dang!

mittmott

Y es Pupppyholic, you have to get your lump checked out.  As much as i believe my lump is nothing, you can't take chances.  I insisted 2 years ago on an Mri, doc didn't do it.  I insisted again this  past year, and look, they found my second cancer. Maybe if they found it last year, it would only have been dcis, not with a microinvasion, making me stage 1 again.  In retrospect, I found out they saw something on my mammo's,  and thought it was only scar tissue from my past lumpectomy.  If I hadn't insisted on the mri, who knows what stage I would have been, when they finally discovered it.  I say the only good lump is one in a jar, that can be seen under the microscope, and no matter how disgusted I am at the  prospect of that operating room again, I will continue to stay on top of everything, We have to.  I believe we all have to be our own doctors to a point.  Good luck, and have your lump checked.

Simplicity

Wow. Old thread. Kind of a good thing.

I'm just over a year post op and have had a lump appear just below abdominal incision that I am guessing is scar tissue. I have another lump that just appeared on my TRAM side (left, non cancer breast) about 1.5 weeks ago It hurts. So did my cancer lump.

Anywho, most interesting, or discouraging, is what I call a pearl string of bumps going halfway around the outside perimeter of my DIEP breast They began deeper, but now the top two are prominent enough to be seen without prompting *sigh*

I go to the oncologist tomorrow after work..hate this chit.

Just wanted to vent....