Sunburn through clothes post mastectomy???

Hmmm, I've been on vacation in my bathing suit after my masts but didn't experience what you did. Why can't it just be an infection? Why does he think you got a sunburn? I never have....and I golf too, so I'm in the sun a lot.

Myself and many other women I have seen have been told to be very careful after MX as it is very easy to burn, even through non-SPF rated clothing. Since I already am a easy-burner (pasty redhead) I make sure to be even extra cautious. You have very very thin tissue now, which is very susceptible to sun damage, so always apply sunscreen under the suit over your chest as well.

I never had radiation.  It has to do with the sensitivity of your skin itself after surgery, both trauma from surgery and after removing so much tissue underneath the skin.

From http://www.nygplasticsurgery.com/resources/patient/detail.php?ID=125 on the their Reconstruction with Implants FAQ:

Q: Can I go tanning or sun bathe?

A: Tanning beds are NEVER recommended by plastic surgeons! If you're at the beach or in the sun, you will need to be careful because you can get sunburnt easily in the first year after surgery. Your breast area skin is hypersensitive, and sometimes it’s difficult to tell if you're actually getting a sunburn due to changes in skin sensation that have not quite returned to normal. For this reason we ask that you wear sunscreen and get in the water periodically to cool off. You can also wear a shirt to protect your skin. 

Sun can also actually worsen scarring. Scars are less resistant to ultraviolet rays and much more prone to sunburn, especially if they are fresh. Prolonged sun exposure can permanently darken a scar, especially in people with darker skin complexions out begin with.

Franny - I have posted here several times about the horror of getting a SEVERE sunburn under my clothes while I had my TEs in.

I put on a white tank top with a shelf bra to go out and work in my garden.

Being super-cautious about skin cancer now, I slathered sunscreen over all my VISIBLE body parts.

Well, when I finally came in and took a shower, my TEs were lobster-red and what skin I could feel stung like the dickens!!!

My first thought was to put a towel- wrapped ice pack on them to cool them off. Fortunately, my second thought was to call the PS. 

He read me the riot act about ice: with thin skin that has been compromised in surgery with nerves being severed and sutured the likelihood of FROSTBITE is high. We just don't have the perception of sensation to tell when something is cold enough to burn fragile tissues.

I asked how in the world I could get burned UNDER my clothes, and he explained that breast skin is relatively thin to start with. During the MX, all the breast and fatty tissue is scraped away in order to get all the cancer cells.

Once this fatty tissue is gone, the skin is vulnerable to the UV rays that cause sunburn, as there is nowhere underneath ( except for some man-made insert like a TE or an implant) for these harmful rays to dissipate. So that fragile breast skin takes the brunt of it.

In my case, I was wearing a thin knit top with a built-in bra. The PS said in the future to 1) avoid the sun; and 2) if I were going to be out in the sun for any length of time, to use sunscreen on my TEs and eventually my implants.

I've followed his advice and have had no more problems, even now with my implants.

Hope this helps....