Peau D'Orange After Mastectomy With Immediate Reconstruction?

It might not really be Peau d'orange, but might be more likely related to how how your skin looks when stretched tighter than normal by the remaining PostOp swelling, along with any residual bruising which can look yellowish. Have them evaluate you for a possible mini lymphedema of your breast. Are you using a compression bra still to help decrease the swelling?.

I had that skin effect after my most recent chest surgery. It was from excess fluid in the tissues.

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Aug 27, 2016 09:27AM Icietla wrote:

[...]

There were only two drains installed – just one on each side – in my flattening surgery. The flow from the right side one ran only slowly after a couple of days, and it never lightened from opaque dark blood appearance. Blood and lymph apparently built up in the right side tissues – that side developed appreciable swelling, peau d'orange skin effect, and a broad purple band all around the incision seam. [...]

You are welcome. Understand, that skin effect is from fluid congestion. You have been seriously injured, and that is enough to account for your swelling.

If the googling results nag at you, interfere with your sleep, anything like that -- Take a deep breath. Remind yourself that your tumor was removed in your surgery. Consider that it was DCIS, presumably incapable of shedding tumor cells that could cause congestion in your fluid circulation channels. But because of the injury (your surgery), some (previously) usual routes for fluid circulation have been altered, so that area of your body needs time to work out how it will circulate fluid from now on.

It may take a long time -- weeks and weeks, or maybe months -- for all of the swelling to go away.

I am glad you checked with your Doctor and will be examined soon. You should feel much more at ease if the Doctor finds nothing unusual going on.

I hope and expect that you are well on your way to full recovery.

Mom-Leslie has not posted since November 2017. Most people who drop of the boards finish their treatment and move on. Or are diagnosed benign in the first place. Very few people hang around. I'm answering since it will bump it forward one more time, but don't be surprised if you don't hear. Hang on to your attitude that this is likely surgery trauma, since your second replacement surgery was only a couple of weeks ago. It it looks the same in two weeks, call your doc.