Dealing with Recurrent Seroma
I had a sizable seroma after my lumpectomy and it has now been fully drained twice over a 9 month period and I feel like it's coming back again. It causes me ongoing irritation. Has anyone had any successful treatment to get rid of a recurrent seroma? I've read about sclerotherapy or the option for them to go in and surgically remove the "capsule" and then sew you back up.
Comments
-
BCat40, sorry you're again experiencing problems. While I can't answer your question, maybe a call to your breast center, and nurse navigator if available, would help you decide what to do. I had a seroma and it went away after being drained twice and radiation. Meanwhile, this will bump your question back to the top of the list so others might see and answer!
-
Thanks ceanna. I contacted my BS and she said sclerotherapy could permanently deform my breast and surgical removal is too invasive. So I'm supposed to just keep re-aspirating until it hopefully stops refilling.
-
I had a seroma. Had it drained 3 or 4 times then it stopped recurring. No other treatment was needed.
-
Pessa--that's good to hear! I hope 3 or 4 times can be the charm for me too then! It's getting so irritating and I feel like it came back so fast after the last drainage (within a month).
-
I had one after surgery. My BS drained it once but it came back immediately. I just lived with it, massaged and and bought bras cut to not rub on it. It finallly went down after about 10 months. On my annual mammogram they could still see it but thankfully it was not palpable
-
I had about the same results as DogMom. My RO said it would take a year to resolve and that was true to the day. Then this past year I developed truncal lymphedema so when I fill up with fluid so does the seroma. I now wear sports bras as to not irritate that site. It slowly goes up and down. Stretching and massage do work. I was also told to lightly massage my incisional line daily to prevent lumps.
-
I am already in PT due to breast swelling/localized breast lymphedema and the professional massage got the generalized swelling down but did not touch the seroma. It's encapsulated. I would just let it be except that it causes me pain and a burning feeling.
-
BCat40,
From what I have read on BCO and on other websites, it is common for seromas to require multiple aspirations. For me, the third time was the charm, but had Covid not happened, I would have even gone for fourth aspiration.
Here's the long version of my experience: I had a seroma that developed soon after my lumpectomy that caused pain and became encapsulated. I also developed general breast swelling after radiation that was deemed not to be lymphedema. I finally got so sick of it, I asked my surgeon to drain it. He did, and it came back quickly, which he said was likely to happen because it was encapsulated. He drained it again about a month later, and once again, it came back. However, it wasn't quite as big that time, so my surgeon said it would be worth it to try again if it came back, which it did. I went back one month later and had it drained a third time. That was on March 12 last year. Covid shut everything down soon after, so I knew if it came back, I wouldn't be going in anytime soon to get it aspirated a fourth time. It did come back, but even a little smaller. While I was working from home during the Covid shutdown, I rolled up a sock and put it in my bra to give that spot some extra compression. I wore it all day and all night. I did that for at least a month, and one morning I woke up and all of a sudden the seroma was almost gone. I doubt the sock would have done the trick on its own, and I probably would have gone back for a fourth aspiration if I could have. I can still feel the seroma somewhat and it was noted on my most recent mammo report as a "resolving seroma," but it doesn't hurt, doesn't rub the inside of my arm, and doesn't make that breast look huge compared to the other one anymore. In fact, the little bit that is left actually seems to add enough contour at the lumpectomy site to prevent me from having a big dent. The best part of all is that the overall swelling in the breast resolved as the seroma got smaller. The bottom of my breast had so much fluid retention that the skin felt thick and lumpy, but that is gone now. I had gone to a PT/lymphedema specialist for help with the swelling, but it didn't do much good until that seroma got smaller. I had thought that since my seroma was encapsulated that surgery was going to be my only option, but thankfully my surgeon was willing to aspirate a few times which did the trick. If it hadn't, my surgeon said a referral to a plastic surgeon would have been appropriate. I wasn't crazy about the thought of more surgery, so I'm thankful the aspirating worked. For me, it was worth it to keep having it drained. Good luck with yours!
-
May I ask anyone, please. Did your seroma stop you from having radiation? My seroma weeps every day, some days more than others. I meet my radium specialist on Friday. I don’t want there to be a major hold up to start treatment because of this.
-
NoBananas, I had an active seroma in my node biopsy site when I started SAVI, an internally delivered radiation. My seroma actually got better gradually after that 5-day type of treatment, but I don't know about regular radiation or if the location of the seroma matters. Only your RO will know based on your situation. Best wishes that you can move ahead with radiation and that the seroma heals soon!
-
NoBananas, I don’t believe your seroma should stop you from having radiation. Like ceanna, I had a seroma at the time I was scheduled for radiation (brachytherapy). Mine was actually in the cavity left by thetumor removal (the same cavity into which the Savi was placed). My BS drained the seroma before inserting the Savi but it refilled shortly after I completed radiation (and the Savi was removed). It was drained again a few weeks later at my physical therapist’s suggestion but when it refilled a third time I said “enough” and have accepted that it may be here to stay. Ask your RO when you see him/her on Friday. If it needs to be drained before radiation, perhaps it can be done at that time. Good luck!
-
JKL2017, thank you so much for your information! Mine is also right where the tumour was. But mine is weeping, not encapsulated. Just hoping my treatment won’t be stalled. I’ll keep you posted. Thank yo very much.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team