Fluid-Blood 2 1/2 months post surger

sharalou

HELP! Just came back from breast surgeon. Had right mastectomy (left in 2005), with a sentinel node biopsy in Sept.  The past couple weeks I have notice like fluid (felt like), further down from my armpit. Went to surgeon today. The nurse used the ultrasound machine and we could see fluid. Surgeon came in and said she was going to draw some fluid out.  She drew back about 15cc of fluid with blood????? Said that is normal when going through chemo.  Anyone else same or similary situation?  I am so worried.  Now uncomfortable after it being done about 2 1/2 hours ago.  HELP!

kira66715

Sharalou,

  What you had was a fluid collection--called a seroma. They're very common, as after surgery there can be "loose ends" of lymph vessels and blood vessels, and they leak out and tend to form a "ball" of fluid.

Sometimes they come back. And sometimes they can become infected after being aspirated, so keep on eye out for redness, warmth and pain.

The pain you have now is from the aspiration: I had one in my arm pit, and it was finally aspirated, 4 months after surgery, and it was a big syringe of clear fluid. I kept some padding in the area to try and stop it from re-accumulating, and put some ice on it for a little while. Ultimately, it went away.

Good thing you had it aspirated. Hope you feel better soon. 

Kira

ahew

When is a collection of fluid a seroma and when is it LE?  I went back and had aspiration twice, though the second time the amount of fluid removed was small and I was assured that it would go away.  Although the feeling of fullness in the axilla continued I kept thinking it would go away with time.  It was only when my wrist became swollen that I went  back to ask if I had LE and the surgeon sent me to an LE therapist.  At that point I started to read more and realized that I probably had truncal LE and therapist confimed.  Now, with a compression bra (truly a piece of torture apparel) it seems to me to be improving.  But, I wonder if I did not have truncal LE well before it was diagnosed and it was thought it was a slow-to-improve seroma.  Are there guidelines that help to distinguish between the two?