Seroma

natsera

I think I have a seroma in my armpit. I need more information!

Moderators

Hi natsera!

Until you get answers from other members here, you may want to take a look at the information we have compiled in our main site on Seroma.

Hope this helps! Let us know how you're doing.

The Mods

SpecialK

natsera - contact your BS office and have them take a look, either by palpation or US. Untreated seroma poses a potential infection risk.

sbelizabeth

Natsera, are you going to have radiation treatments? I had a large seroma under my arm after my mastectomy, and it sloshed around a lot. My radiation oncologist insisted that it be drained multiple times so that the targeting of the radiation beams wouldn't be off. Also, he designed a special rads treatment for the area of the seroma, since he was concerned that any "leftover" cancer cells in the seroma fluid might "seed" another tumor.

SpecialK is right, talk to your doctor. Small seromas are sometimes left to resolve on their own, depending on the circumstances, but larger ones might need draining or other treatment. A stagnant collection of fluid can be an infection risk.

ElaineTherese

natsera,

I had a huge seroma after my lumpectomy. My medical oncologist and radiation oncologist insisted that my surgeon drain it, which he did. Some surgeons aren't too concerned about seromas; they say that your body will just reabsorb the fluid over time. But, my seroma was so big and my skin was red, so my other doctors were concerned about it. I agree with SpecialK; have your surgeon look at it.

natsera

Thanks for your responses! It's about 6 inches wide by 3 inches high -- I don't think that's small. And I called my surgeon's office on Monday, and they finally got back to me today, and I will see her tomorrow morning. I don't know if she will want to drain it or not -- it's not red, but is firm and somewhat tender. I can't afford to get an infection, and I certainly don't want infection -- I'm diabetic, and we're more prone to infections anyway!

While I'm here, I have another question: I read in another group that there is always a risk of lymphedema, and I was wondering if the seroma increases the risk. I'm only 2 weeks post-surgery, so I'm assuming it's still healing? And then someone said that you should avoid pricks in that arm and hand, but I have to test my blood sugar by poking my fingers, so I'm hoping that that little poke is OK!

This morning, the hand on that side was SLIGHTLY more swollen than the other hand, and it kind of scared me, but I'm hoping that it's just because the surgery was so recent and the lymph vessels need more time to heal, but am I mistaken?

Thanks for your help!

mustlovepoodles

I had a huge hematoma after my LX, followed by an equally huge seroma after the hematoma was cleaned out. The seroma was drained about 4 times, not counting the 3 times it broke open on its own. Is it any wonder that it got massively infected? Erg. I was on strong antibiotics for 6 weeks! The LE specialist thought my risk was higher than usual, due to all the problems I had with the LX.

ElaineTherese

I had a big seroma, but have not yet had any symptoms of lymphadedma. By the way, I had all of my Levels 1 and 2 lymph nodes (20 in all) removed. So, not sure if they're related.

sbelizabeth

I don't know if the presence of a seroma increases the likelihood of lymphedema--I sort of doubt it, because the seroma isn't just undrained lymphatic fluid, it's a pocket of serous fluid that has collected from the leaking tissues around it.

Natsera, can you poke the fingers exclusively on the other hand for blood glucose measurements? Everyone's different and some can tolerate pokes and lab draws and sticks from rose thorns and mosquito bites with no problem--for others, these events can kick off a bout of cellulitis (a nasty infection). Removing only two lymph nodes reduces your risk of lymphedema, I think, but there's always some risk when nodes are removed.

Keep an eye on your arm and alert your surgeon if you perceive it's genuinely bigger than the other. Getting treatment for lymphedema sooner rather than later is a good idea.

Juls4

I had a mastectomy in January and I still have a seroma under my armpit. It's pretty much my whole armpit and about 4 inches down below the armpit. I just saw my oncologist and she confirmed it was a seroma not lymphedema and said it will just take time to go away. If you only had a few lymph nodes removed, it probably isn't lymphedema, but regardless both issues are manageable once your doctor can confirm what's going on. My understanding of lymphedema is that it would probably affect your entire arm, not just your armpit. Good luck!

cwayman650

I had my mastectomy in Sept of 14. I had a large seroma on the rt. (non cancer side). My surgeon drained it multiple times until it finally stopped filling back up. Mine was on my chest, where the base of my breast was. As far as you hand swelling, make sure to bring it to your Dr. attention. As belizebeth said, better to treat it sooner rather than later. You should also ask the Dr. regarding safety of poking your fingers on that side. Until then you should probably do it on the other side. Good luck and keep us posted.

ChiSandy

I developed a tangerine-sized axillary seroma at the SNB incision site. At 3 weeks post-op, I asked my surgeon's NP whether it should be drained. "Absolutely not," she said, "it'll only refill and maybe get infected. Let it go away on its own." Two days later, had my first RO appt. He noticed some of the Steri-strips still hadn't completely fallen off the SNB incision, so he said it was safe to remove them and did so.

The next day (at 3-1/2 weeks post-op), I was bending over the sink towards the mirror to brush & floss when I heard a hissing "goooshhh" sound. My first thought was "oh, no, the cat is spraying again!" Looked around—no cat. Then I felt something warm and wet on my blouse and thought "I must've leaned too far and gotten warm water on myself." But then I saw faintly bloody fluid (actually the same color as my blouse) dripping on the floor, and realized my SNB incision had burst. After I'd been playing phone tag with the hospital for half an hour, the NP called back and said to come in to the Breast Health center right away. (I'd have called her directly, but it was Friday—why do all crises happen on Friday afternoon???—which was the BS' usual surgery day; I'd assumed that because my orthopedic surgeon's NP always scrubbed in with him, so did my breast surgeon's NP. I was mistaken). Got there and the NP looked at it. I said "shouldn't we have drained it?" and she answered "These things happen, it's water under the bridge, and you're here now." She then proceeded to describe how she would express the remaining fluid and show me how to pack it several times a day because it had to "heal from the inside out."

Say WHA??? I told her in no uncertain terms that I had performing (and touring) obligations and was not about to retreat to the bathroom several times a day, changing serum-soaked gauze pads and hoping my clothes wouldn't get ruined and I wouldn't get an infection. I told her I wanted a second opinion—that it should at least be sutured closed. She didn't seem happy, but went to get the other surgeon, who wasn't in the OR that day. He looked at it, whistled in amazement and said "I'd better suture this puppy pronto." He gave me some lidocaine (though my 'pit was still pretty numb) and set to work. I heard more "gooooshhh"-ing. "Hear that?" he asked, "It's still leaking, and I got another half-cupful out of it." He finished stitching and said it should hold and probably not refill much if at all. I asked how this could have happened, and he replied that the weight of my "very large" breast (to be fair, a tactful understatement), combined with that of the mammary seroma that had filled the empty space deep inside the tumor cavity, had pulled it open and no amount of surgical adhesive would have kept it closed. I asked if, in retrospect, I should have had a bilateral reduction along with the lumpectomy, and he answered (equally tactfully) "well, you weren't my surgical patient." When I went back two weeks later (just before hitting the road for a music conference in Iowa) for suture removal, I asked the NP if I ought to consider reductions. "No," she said, "you'll just get more seromas and probably granulomas." The sutures held; it didn't get infected; and it never did get larger than a grape before it disappeared.

If, like me, you have oversized heavy breasts and the incision was glued rather than sutured shut, I would at least have it sutured whether or not you get the seroma drained.

natsera

Thank you all for the responses.

I saw the surgeon yesterday and her initial response was not to drain it, but then she asked me about pain and inconvenience and it WAS tender and uncomfortable. So she decided to drain it -- the whole procedure went by too fast for me to have time to think.

Today, it has refilled a bit but not as much as it was before. Her main concern is infection but so far, so good.

I think so worry about things that may never happen because this is such a new experience.

So I'm grateful for the stories and reassurance I find here.