Information on scar revision surgery?

Snickersmom
Snickersmom Member Posts: 926
edited December 2017 in Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy

I still have some lumps under and in front of armpits that are tissue pockets. I know my surgeon can remove them but I'd like to hear from anyone who has had this done. There are no flaps - he did take them off. My scars are pretty smooth but I do have a blob especially in front of one armpit that is very uncomfortable.

Can anyone give me some input? Have any of you had this removed

E

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  • ravzari
    ravzari Member Posts: 277
    edited December 2017

    Do you have dog ears (extra fatty tissue left over) or is it actual raised scar tissue? If it's annoying dog ears, I had a couple removed and it was a pretty minor procedure; done in under 2 hours and I got to go home a couple hours after that.

    I don't have any experience with the latter, as mine healed pretty well and flat, but from what I've read keloid or raised scarring is usually treated with laser as doing more cutting in an area that's already shown it's prone to keloid scarring can just make it worse.

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  • Snickersmom
    Snickersmom Member Posts: 926
    edited December 2017

    No, he took the dog ears when he did the surgery. This actually looks like pockets of fluid but it's tissue. Not much raised scarring and he is going to smooth that out at the same time.

    Thanks

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  • ravzari
    ravzari Member Posts: 277
    edited December 2017

    So just some left over tissue around/on the scar line? I'd guess it'd be a pretty easy, not terribly invasive procedure to do that.

    If he's not recommending laser treatments it's probably not keloid scarring, so that's good; I know they can 'redo' non-keloid scarring by re-excision of the area to get rid of the excess tissue/skin and creating a new closure but they don't usually do that if it's a keloid situation as it can make those come back or come back worse.

    Scar revision in general is usually considered pretty minor, but I'd guess you'll be sore for a week or so for the initial healing. Depending on how much they have to do, you may even just get surgical glue instead of stitches.


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  • Lisey
    Lisey Member Posts: 1,053
    edited December 2017

    Yup, I had mild puckering from some extra skin and it was removed. Easiest surgery ever. No drains, no problem.

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  • Snickersmom
    Snickersmom Member Posts: 926
    edited December 2017

    No, it's not keloid scarring. It's more like a couple of blobs. I think it's because they didn't want to make the incision too tight and also he might have wanted to leave the skin a bit on the loose side in case I changed my mind about having reconstruction. I do know that I will have to have drains in again but I can put up with that if it means I'll be more comfortable.

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  • ravzari
    ravzari Member Posts: 277
    edited December 2017

    Oh! Yeah that makes sense that they might have left them just to be on the safe side; part of my revision was to remove a little extra skin that was left to make sure my initial incisions weren't so tight that they might not adhere together due to normal movement. When my arms are down I STILL think they left too much but, when I raise my arms, it's taught so I know I'm just being picky in my case and if they took anymore I'd probably have range of motion problems.

    With mine, I didn't need drains and they just had me wear a compression vest for a couple of weeks instead.

    It should be a pretty minor thing to have it revised, even with having to have drains.

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  • Snickersmom
    Snickersmom Member Posts: 926
    edited December 2017

    Now that you have pointed that out, I think I might revisit any further surgery. I don't want to not be able to have good range of motion. But, the biggest problem is that anything I wear - even a tee shirt - bothers that area just in front of my armpit. Any bra, cami, etc. is annoying and uncomfortable. So do I live with it and be uncomfortable or risk making it worse? My surgeon seems to think it won't be a problem. I really hope

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  • ravzari
    ravzari Member Posts: 277
    edited December 2017

    It's possible they might be able to just lipo the area if it's still leftover fatty tissue and not all redundant skin.


    Like, with mine, when my arms are fully raised, there is no extra skin or tissue that I can pinch or grab, and while I think it looks less than ideal when my arms are down, there isn't enough that it gets in the way, shows through clothes, or makes wearing certain clothes uncomfortable; it sounds, based on your description, like you have a bit more excess than that.


    If there IS that much redundant skin, I'd be surprised if they couldn't take some off and still leave you without it being too tight when you raise your arms fully above your head. Since your surgeon has seen what's being dealt with, they'd likely be able to take enough off that it's not annoying but not so much that it causes problems.

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  • Snickersmom
    Snickersmom Member Posts: 926
    edited December 2017

    Thank you, Ravzari. I think you are exactly right. My surgeon is supposed to be one of the best so I am going to trust him to know what he's doing.

    Your input has been extremely helpful

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