Lumpectomy: Breast looks scalded, is hard bruised red & painful

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I-AM-A-Nobody
I-AM-A-Nobody Member Posts: 12
edited September 2017 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

I had my Lumpectomy and 3 sentinel node dissection on September 11, 2017. My tumor was 1.1cm by ultrasound, and 0.9cm by mammogram.

My breast looks like it was scaled with hot water. It is hard, bruised, red and painful. Bruise is moving to other side of areola from where the cancer incision was made. I have been taking Tramadol 50mg every 4 hours since surgery. I was not prepared for what my breast would look like and feel like after surgery. I cannot find any photos of what breasts look like 24 to 48+ hours after surgery.

Is my post surgery breast normal? What were your experiences?

Thanks for any input..




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  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited September 2017

    I had a lumpectomy for fibroadenoma about 12 years ago. A little tenderness/pain at the incision site and a little swelling but that's it. It sounds like you may have something else going on especially with the bruising on the opposite side of breast from the incision and the hardness. I'd call your surgeon (or whoever is on call for his office) asap

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  • I-AM-A-Nobody
    I-AM-A-Nobody Member Posts: 12
    edited September 2017

    Thank you for responding Lula73 and KB870. I should have added that I have not felt good since the surgery. And, I sent photos to my surgeon on Wednesday, and she was going to send in a prescription for some cream, but I was feeling better on Thursday and she decided not to. I emailed her yesterday (Friday) through the patient portal asking if she would write me a prescription, but I never did hear back from her. I know Friday is her surgery day, but I thought I would hear back from her. I would like to post photos of my breast but I am not allowed to post links at this time.

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  • mustlovepoodles
    mustlovepoodles Member Posts: 2,825
    edited September 2017

    This is not normal. Call your surgeon NOW or go to Urgent Care or ER today. It sounds like you have a bad infection in there and it should not wait until Monday.

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  • VLH
    VLH Member Posts: 1,258
    edited September 2017

    I have to agree with MustLovePoodles. I had an infection develop in my SNB incision after a seroma was drained and ultimately had a PICC line inserted so I could have daily IV antibiotics at home. I don't want to sound alarmist, but it's better to err on the side of caution.

    Lyn

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited September 2017

    Call your Dr's office ASAP and talk with whoever is on call! Of course, none of us can tell you what is (or isn't) going on. If your Surgeon's office does not return the call you might want to go to an Intent Care as it could possibly be an infection which should be treated sooner rather than later.

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  • Michelle_in_cornland
    Michelle_in_cornland Member Posts: 1,689
    edited September 2017

    Probably a fat necrosis or seroma, which can both be red. Your doctor will need to remove fluid to see if it is infected. I had fat necrosis, a hard red spot, and we drained several tubes from my incision area. Don't wait, have her get you an antibiotic, stat.

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  • pollicakes
    pollicakes Member Posts: 28
    edited September 2017

    Hi I Am Not,

    I had a lumpectomy and oncoplasty, lift and reduction back in May.  I had very very bad bruising, my breast turned all colors of purple, black and blue.  Parts of my incisions actually opened and got infected about 5 weeks after surgery and I had a mild cellulitis that I did 2 rounds of antibiotics for, I had blood building in my breast which needed to be removed with a needle.  I'm not trying to scare you, just passing on what my journey was like.  I just finished radiation this past Wednesday where I did get radiation burns and a small blister on my nipple incision. I actually still have some very mild bruising under my breasts from the original surgery.  I will be honest, did my breasts look very frightening, OMG yes, did I have pain, yes....but honestly, i'm done now, i'm healing from radiation, and it actually all went by very quickly.  Personally i'm very glad to have kept my breasts, and now that most of the bruising is gone, the swelling is down significantly, the skin is healing from radiation...I can see that my plastic surgeon really did a beautiful job...I can see how beautiful my breasts are looking.  I was a smoker for many years.  I did quit about 6 weeks before surgery, but smoking can definitely  affect how the body heals from surgery.....i'm sure that contributed to my healing.  But like I said, i'm at the end of the road, all is healing, all is starting to look beautiful.  And as I look back, it went by quick !!  Good luck to you !! 


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  • I-AM-A-Nobody
    I-AM-A-Nobody Member Posts: 12
    edited September 2017

    Thank you everyone, I live in a very rural place. The closest decent ER is 2 hours away. My body temperature is always low. It has stayed around 97.4 until this evening. It is now 99.0. I will see how tonight goes and make a decision tomorrow morning as to whether I need to go to the ER. I really wish there was a place that showed photos of breasts after lumpectomies from 24 to 48+ hours. I am hoping the pathology from my surgery shows up in my online portal in the next 15 minutes when it is September 17. Thank you all again!

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  • ksusan
    ksusan Member Posts: 4,505
    edited September 2017

    You can call the ER for an opinion. A 2-hour drive isn't nothing, but an infection could kill you. in my book, worth the drive.

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited September 2017

    YOU-ARE-A-Somebody (NO ONE IS 'Nobody')

    If you normally run 97.4 and are up to 99 mow that would be the equivalent of 100.2 in someone that normally runs 98.6. So, in your case, you are running a low grade temperature and should be discussed with your Surgeon as there is a reason for temperature to rise - most likely infection. I have always run a low temperature which was a lot lower during chemo and surgery and was told to call if it got up to 98.6 ('normal' for most) as that would be the equivalent of 100.5 (or higher) for those who have a 'normal' temperature. All these yrs later I still run between 96.6 to 97.4.

    You didn't say you had called the Surgeon's office yet - so call! The On Call Dr can give you an idea of rather or not you should head to an UC or ER immediately or wait til tomorrow. Either way you will still have a 2 hr drive when you go and waiting could (not saying will but could) make whatever is going on worse.

    There are so many possibilities for different infections - some not very nasty - some VERY nasty that need TX sooner rather than later. With the fever developing, it would seem unlikely to be just issues related to surgery. There are also possibilities of other issues that are not related to infections.

    Sounds like a lot of pain meds you are needing. I didn't have a LX but a UMX and definitely did not need that much pain meds - did have Oxy to take if needed but only took 1 or 2 of them. Just OTC Tylenol some. That much pain can go along with an infection or other issue.

    Hint - Take a 'selfie' of the breast so you have that you could text to the Dr so he/she could see how it is appearing. Also after you get the first picture(s) - Take a marker and draw around the edge of the area ('selfie' also) so it will show how it is progressing/spreading when you see a Dr. It never hurts to document, document, document to lessen questions if any happen.

    Let us know!

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