Three months post surgery

[RestlessMe]

I had a mastectomy three months ago. Overall it’s gone very well.

However yesterday I started to feel incredibly cold and could not get warm. Took my temperature and it was 37.9.

I still have some fluid around the scar but it’s manageable. However, now the fluid is firmer and it’s throbbing. It feels very uncomfortable as opposed to painful. My shoulder aches too.

Waiting on a callback from the Breast nurse. I just wonder whether anybody else experienced something similar

[Lucifair]

Hi, I had a lumpectomy and auxiliary clearance and had a troublesome seroma that I had drained about 5 times. I thought it was all sorted when out of the blue a couple of months later I started feeling unwell, cold, shakes high temp, ended up in hospital on iv antibiotics and the seroma was infected and caused cellulitis of my breast. 18 months later I had another episode of cellulitis. That was 2 years ago now but when I go away I take antibiotics with me just in case. Hope you are getting sorted. Take care.

[robroy394 in reply to Lucifair]

The lymph fluid in the breast normally flows into the axillary lymph nodes and then enters the blood stream via the subclavian vein near the collar bone. If you have had axillary node clearance you need to see a Manual Lymph Drainage therapist to achieve a permanent redirection of this fluid to that vein bypassing the axillary area (manual and kinesiotape method). Otherwise you will continue to have lymph fluid build up and discomfort and the risk of cellulitis which happens when the lymph flow is blocked and can then cause an infection.

[robroy394]

The fluid around the scar is lymph fluid which if blocked by the scar from the normal route of this fluid from the former breast towards the axillary lymph nodes in the armpit can then turn fibrotic and firm due to the protein molecules coagulating. So it is important for you to have treatment from a manual lymphatic drainage therapist to have this rectified. It will need manual treatment to relieve the blockage as well as low level laser on the scar tissue and if you have had lymph nodes removed, or RT, the fluid will need to be redirected by the therapist direct to the subclavian vein to bypass the site of the former axillary nodes