Anyone have a *seroma* for over a year!

Options
Chelee
Chelee Member Posts: 513
edited July 2017 in HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
I had a MRM on 1-3-06 and not long after had fluid build up under there. Made me very un-comfortable. Talked my surgeon into draining it once. Got 44cc's of this thick bloody gooney junk out of there. He said it was a seroma...but if you google seroma it says its clear fluid. Not thick bloody fluid. Mine looked more like a hematoma to me. My surgeon said "no its not". He said sometimes it just looks like that? I have to question that?

But he felt after draining it once my body would absorb it in time. Well, it hasn't and I can't stand this anymore! Its built up so MUCH pressure, burns and hurts. It shows up on all my scans...but my surgeon said he doesn't want to drain it again because it opens me to infection. I know there is TRUTH to that...but am I SUPPOSE to live like this forever? It seriously causes me pain and makes life misrable. Its been there over a year now. Have any of you had fluid build up and stay in your chest this long with no relief? And if you had a seroma or hematoma...did you surgeon drain it more then once until it went away?

Chelee
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2007
    Chelee, I can't believe you're still filling up with fluid. This is terrible! Obviously you can't walk about about to burst all the time. Have you let your doctor know how unacceptable this is and how much it concerns you?

    It may be time for a second opinion?

    So sorry you are suffering!

    Miss S
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • nagem
    nagem Member Posts: 353
    edited May 2007

    I had a seroma for a month or two after my axillary lymphedectomy. It was a big pain, kept bursting and draining all over my clothes at unexpected moments. I had a drained a couple of times—amazing amounts of fluid! But eventually it did go away on its own and I haven't had any trouble since. Seems as though you might want to reopen the subject given how much time has passed ...

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jyber
    Jyber Member Posts: 38
    edited May 2007

    I have had a large swelling on my left side (adjacent to my missing breast) since my mastectomy in February. At first my surgeon said it would eventually diminish but it has not at all. It is uncomfortable because my arm is always brushing against it. I assume it is a seroma. My surgeon seems reluctant to try to drain it. I figure once I am trough with chemo if it is still an issue I will address it.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dginoregon
    dginoregon Member Posts: 17
    edited May 2007
    Hi Chelee,
    You said you had an "MRM" ... is that a modified radical mastectomy?

    I developed a large seroma after lumpectomy and Mammosite radiation. The seroma developed in the space where the Mammosite balloon was.

    Like yours, it bothered me tremendously as it was large, painful, and got in the way of my upper arm. At my 4-month post-op checkup with radiology onc, she said it will go away by itself, and not to let anyone drain it because of danger of infection. I waited and waited, and when it became 6 months and it was still as big as a smallish egg, I went to a surgeon nearer home.
    He said that it should definitely have been partially absorbed if it was going to do it; and suggested that we drain it, regardless of possible complication of infection.
    The surgeon treated it very aseptically, like a small operation, and no infection resulted from either of the THREE drainings we did over a period of 6 weeks. First time it was 35 ml, second time about 20, and the third time less than 5. Fluid was light pink, and he sent it away to the lab for analysis. There were no problems.

    I had to wear very tight sports bras for a total of about 8 weeks, right after first aspiration and up to about 2 weeks after last one.

    The fluid is now gone; the area is still quite tender but I understand that now it's from the scar tissue of surgery and radiation.

    So ... yes, there is danger of infection, but with good aseptical practices, my seroma was accessed and drained 3 times without any infection developing and yes, it took care of the problem. Note that mine was definitely fluid, not bloody a you describe. I would recommend you get a second opinion.

    Hope this helped!
    Delina
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2007
    Will this eventually go away on its own over time??? Is it soft or hard to touch???

    I had a cycst removed in the same spot as the original SNB and there is a (Im not sure what to call it) well anyway....whatever it is runs the entire length on the upper side of the scar, about 3 1/2"...I had a drain for 1 wk after that surgery and I believe it was there then but the surgeon didnt say anything about it....
    It doesnt hurt or anything and when I check it I think it is getting smaller but am curious to see if you ladies think I should have it checked again or do the wait and see thing....all nodes removed were negative so not really concerned about that part.
    Thanks
    Jule
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SheriH
    SheriH Member Posts: 785
    edited May 2007

    I have a large, thick, blue vein that runs on top of my mastectomy scar. My surgeon thought it would eventually go away, but it's still there, almost two and a half years later.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Margerie
    Margerie Member Posts: 526
    edited May 2007
    Chelee,

    You poor girl- you are haunted by surgical complications!

    Anyway, I think you are doing a great job dealing with this with grace, humor and patience!

    I had a hematoma/seroma (I think my doc used both words) after my MRM/axillary dissection 10/05. It happened after he pulled the drains. A few days later I had diffuse bruising- not a localized spot, and it was not painful. We checked it every week and he drained it 3 or 4 times (gooey red serous liquid). It healed just in time for chemo. I do remember the surgeon saying that if it did not resolve- he would have me go back into surgery and "clean it up" and probably put in another drain. He did say he had a patient that did chemo before it healed and then it took her over a year to clear the hematoma.

    I don't know the answers, but it seems like you should have more options than doing nothing.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Chelee
    Chelee Member Posts: 513
    edited May 2007
    I've brought this issue up to my surgeon MANY times. The last time I told him...this was his exact words to me, "We don't need to worry about that". That's right after I told him this seroma has been there almost a year and its causing me PAIN. Prior to this...I have mentioned it to him on EVERY visit to his office. One time he blew me off by TRYING to get out of it by saying, he rather not risk me getting an infection by draining it again and would choose to open it back up and put a drain back in.

    On 3-15-07 I decided to have a prophylactic mastectomy. I said since we are doing the mastectomy...wouldn't this be a GOOD time to install a drain in the OTHER side. I caught him off guard with that and he said YES it would be. So I THOUGHT it was a DONE DEAL.

    So I had the mastectomy and I wake up in recovery to find he did NOT put the drain in the other side like promised! I was SO PISSED OFF! That would of been the PERFECT time to do it since I was going to be STUCK with a drain anyway in the prophylatic side.

    When I saw him I asked him why didn't he put the drain in like we talked about? He said he looked at my scans and it was getting smaller. (That's a LIE..it is NOT!) I told him it hasn't gotten any smaller and I WANTED it taken care of like he promised. Then as *always* he blew me off again saying it WOULD TAKE CARE of itself in time. I might as well talk to the wall. He has ONLY drained it once...he could at least do it a couple more times. I read the John Hopkins site and it mentioned that seroma's CAN be SAFELY drained MANY times. I see many of you had yours drained several times with good results.

    Like Miss S. said...I think its time I request a 2nd opinion. I am beyond misrable and I have waited far to long. I see my surgeon tomorrow about my recent mastectomy...its filling up under that side now too. Now I can have a matched set of seroma's.


    Margerie, I am RELIEVED to hear you had a thicker gooney red fluid. I was concerned why I seemed to be the only one with that type of fluid. I can't trust what my surgeon tells me. Thanks for sharing that with me. This seroma feels just awful. I couldn't be more misrable..I've waited long enough and this is NOT going to go away by itself. My chest is so full of pressure now that I have BOTH sides full of fluid. Thanks for all the replies...they are all very helpful. I really appreciate it.

    Chelee
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • sassyone
    sassyone Member Posts: 26
    edited June 2007
    Chelee,
    I think I hold the record on drained seromas. My mast was 2/05 and I had drains for a couple of weeks. After my drains were removed, I developed a seroma which my surgeon did not like. He drained it daily for about three weeks, then every three days for another three weeks. He would not let me start chemo until the fluid drained was below 10cc's (I think) after a three day period. So it was eight weeks after surgery before I could start chemo. This was all a blessing in disguise, because it gave me an opportunity to do a little more research into my first onc-which led to my decision to seek a second opinion--where I was diagnosed as HER2+. My first onc didn't test for it. This was all happening right as HERA results were released at ASCO.

    Long story short--my seroma ended up getting me to the treatment I needed!

    They can be drained, it just depends on the surgeon. Infection is a risk.

    Sassy
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Chelee
    Chelee Member Posts: 513
    edited June 2007
    Sassy, You DO hold the offical title on this for getting seroma's drained. My goodness! Your an expert on this one I would think. I wonder why your surgeon was SO INSISTENT on draining it when my surgeon doesn't seem to care? (Other then you have a REAL surgeon that cares and I don't.) lol

    My seroma was drained ONCE along time ago ONLY because I KEPT pressuring him. My seroma has been there since my orignal surgery on 1-3-06. It developed right away...its shown up on EVERY single PET/CT scan. I wouldn't care...but mine causes REAL pain even though my surgeon KEEPS telling me they DON'T hurt. He said its usually described as *pressure*. (Good for him...when he has a seroma in HIS chest...then he can tell me what it feels like...until then...he needs to shut up.) lol Mine is pressure, BURNING & pain...not to mention the big bludge that sticks out where it is.

    Obviously it IS very safe to drain them more then once because your fine. Plus John Hopkins says its ok. I never thought I would hear a seroma actually turned out to be a good thing and get someone TREATED correctly. That is fantastic Sassy. That was perfect timing for you. Excellent. Thanks so much for your reply Sassy.

    Chelee
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • donnajean
    donnajean Member Posts: 5
    edited October 2014

    I had a mastectomy of my left breast August 20th 2014 . Because of the swelling caused by a seroma , I had it drained 3 times. twice by surgeons and finally by a radiologist. who after draining it , used a catheter to insert some kind of what they called a human glue substance. The swelling came back but not as bad this time and I am not in any discomfort  Talk to your surgeon about seeing a radiologist to have it drained. They froze it before draining it so you shouldn't feel any discomfort. If you are feeling uncomfortable , you should definitely get drained again 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • bevin
    bevin Member Posts: 1,902
    edited October 2014

    This is interesting topic, I too have a seroma. I never really thought much about it, but it does cause pain, but I'm 4 years out and its still there. 1cmx 2cm. No one ever talked about draining it or saying it was a problem. I think I'll leave well enough alone - I had a family member get a staph infection  that required 1 year of IV medication and it still wasn't cleared. so I'm pretty resistant to unnecessary surgery or holes being placed in me. I'm glad to read though no one ever had it turn out to be something else.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • oranje_mama
    oranje_mama Member Posts: 260
    edited November 2014

    I found this topic searching under "seroma". My LX was 6 months ago, and I have my follow up with the breast surgeon in a couple of weeks. I have a large seroma (larger than the tumor was - feels like a very large egg). Shows up on mammogram. During normal activities, it doesn't bother me. It is uncomfortable to sleep on my right side at night, though (LX/seroma site is on the side of the breast). I also notice some pain, but I would say tolerable pain, when exercising the chest/should/upper right arm areas. This of course could also be from the SNB and radiation.

    Just wondering if others have any advice/specific questions I should be asking BS when I see her. One question I have is whether they feel comfortable that they see what they need to on the scans with this hulking seroma at the LX site.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anniepanny
    Anniepanny Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2017

    I have had a seroma for a year and have it drained every week ,the doc and nurses said it will go ,but when? It started after my mastectomy ,I'm waiting for reconstruction but I don't think they can do it till this breast stops filling up xx

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories