Redness after drain removal/expander fill

Taralynn

Has anyone experienced skin redness on your breast after your drains were removed and/or you had your first tissue expander fill? My drains were removed last week and I got my first post surgery fill. We are only doing air, not saline. In the week following, my left breast started getting red on the side where the drain went. I asked the PA at this weeks appt, she seemed stumped. No pain, no fevers, no itching ... just a big reddish bruise. She gave it a few good squeezes I guess feeling for anything abnormal, and drained some fluid from it. The fluid was normal color, didn’t look infected she said. She filled with some more airand I went on my way.

4 days later the redness isn’t worse but it’s not any better, if it is only slightly. Anyone experience something like this?

I wanted to call the office today and the day got away from me! Since there’s no pain; it slipped my mind until I was about to get in the shower tonight

OnTarget

I only got skin redness when my implant was infected. The whole thing turned red.

Hopefully yours is a weird local skin thing!

Taralynn

OnTarget - that’s actually what mine turned out to be! In the week leading up to my next PS appt the area became more red and the opposite side of my breast became very painful. My PS drained some very cloudy fluid and sent me to the hospital that day for IV antibiotic.

I stayed there for 3 days and he also removed my expander and gave me a fresh new one. The infection was pseudomonas which I searched on these boards and didn’t see very good outcomes. So I was scared as heck at firstand still am nervous.

luckily it seems his very aggressive approach worked wonders and I’m on the road the healing without removing my reconstruction. I’ll be on oral antibiotics for the next month, and I use an antibiotic cream as well 3 times a day. One drain is back, boooo! But hopefully can be removed this week.

Just wanted to share my experience in case anyone else ever comes here searching about pseudomonas!

LW422

Hey TaraLynn. I'm so glad they figured out the problem and hopefully it will be smooth sailing for you from here on out. I was looking around to see if you'd posted about your surgery yet and found this thread. My best wishes to you. Take care.

p.s. My first chemo is TOMORROW and I'm freaking. (But what else is new, lol.)

Taralynn

LW, thank you!! I was actually catching up on your thread earlier today coincidentally. Thinking of you!!! You got this, I love your spirit!