Rash after surgery

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Mememee
Mememee Member Posts: 57
edited January 2018 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

I had a Bilateral mastectomy with DIEP Flap reconstruction at the same time on Dec 6. I started getting a rash 9th day after surgery and went into anaphylactic shock by day 12. After going to the ER for a shot of epinephrine, I have been taking Benadryl daily along with Zantac (ER Dr said it increased effectiveness off Benadryl). Now it has been 24 days since surgery and my rash is back and is covering my breasts, incisions and stomach. They are red blisters that are raised and a white puss like dot in the middle. Nothing takes the itch away and is getting worse. My GP is on vacation, my PS doesn’t seemed concerned at all. Hoping to talk to my oncologist this week as I am supposed to have second surgery to recover more cancer cells that are too close to the margin. Has anyone else had a rash on their reconstructed breasts

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  • Luckynumber47
    Luckynumber47 Member Posts: 397
    edited January 2018

    What medication are you taking? I got horrible hives from prednisone. Did they put any clips in you during surgery? I have heard of some people having allergic reactions from the clips. Some dr's use staples instead of sutures and that could be a cause.

    Looks like you are going to have to be your own detective to figure out what is different lately that could be causing the problems. Maybe a visit with an allergist would be helpful.

    Good luck. Hope they figure it out quickly.

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  • Mememee
    Mememee Member Posts: 57
    edited January 2018

    hey LuckyNumber47

    I am only taking Benadryl and Advil. I hadn’t thought about the clips or other material used internally. I see my PS tomorrow, I will ask about what I can’t see. Was going to visit my GP to get allergy tested for pain killers and antibiotics, it doesn’t help that my skin is super sensitive under normal circumstances.

    Thanks for your ideas.

    Mememee

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  • Luckynumber47
    Luckynumber47 Member Posts: 397
    edited January 2018

    I'd think anything they used on your skin would be better by now - like the antibacterials or the tapes and since it's still going on it makes me wonder what's still there that's causing a reaction. It took almost 4 weeks for my hives to go away but your problems seem to be getting worse not getting better.

    The Benedryl is just managing the symptoms, not resolving the problem so I'd really push to find out what's going on.

    By the way, I had anaphylactic shock from Aleve so can't take any NSAIDs (including Advil) so I'm super cautious about allergic reactions. And while the paramedics were kinda cute I never want that to happen again.

    Keep us posted.

    Lucky.

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  • Mememee
    Mememee Member Posts: 57
    edited January 2018

    I went to my family Dr today. She concluded that the allergic reaction is from “something inside me” because it is not localized, but on my stomach and arms also. She called my PS to find out what material was used for the sutures. She suspects it is that which is causing the rash. I am on prednisone, steroid cream, & Rx antihistamine. She is also sending me for allergy tests for medications. Fingers crossed this will get rid of the rash. I can’t go for my second surgery to clear some margins until the rash is gone. My family Dr was very pleased with the reconstruction and how incisions are healing. The clips put inside are made of titanium according to the PS.

    Hope you are well.

    Cheers

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  • Luckynumber47
    Luckynumber47 Member Posts: 397
    edited January 2018

    Hi Mememee, glad your dr is taking this seriously. I did a search on the forums and found a few people talking about a reaction to the titanium clips. Seems like it's extremely rare but it is a possibility. A few mention getting a test for metal allergies. One person said they used 30 clips for her DIEP surgery and she ended up having them removed in a 5 hour surgery. Yikes! Hope your allergy is something much simpler. Someone else mentioned a mesh used in her DIEP surgery. Don't know if that's common but it's another question to ask.

    Such a bummer you're going through this. Hope they get to the bottom of it soon

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  • Mememee
    Mememee Member Posts: 57
    edited January 2018

    I saw the dermatologist today. The timing was good. My stomach incision started splitting open and has a constant stream of yellow fluid leaking out. She determined my body rash was a “rebound” reaction to the Clynedmisin, once the epinephrine wears off, the allergic reaction can come back. She said the rash on my breast was different, and it id my body reacting to the suture material. And now, my body is trying to rid itself of the metal clips in the stomach incision. She literally found 4 clips where the wound opened. Also she did a swab culture of all my incisions to make sure there isn’t any infection.

    She has gotten me off the steroids and steroid topical cream. Now I can heal faster without steroids. Hoping in a week or 10 days i will be cleared up to get my surgery to clear my margins. I see her again next Monday

    Now that she is part of my team, she can treat my incisions and sutured area immediately after surgery so I won’t have such a bad reaction. My body does not like any of the material inside but I feel better having a new way to manage it along with lots of antihistamine.

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