My Breakthrough
Care of your mastectomy wound
Your surgeon will have stitched the sides of your wound together, usually with stitches that dissolve on their own when the wound has healed.
If you have a different kind of stitch that needs to be removed, your doctor or nurse will tell you when this will happen.
At first, you'll have a dressing over your wound. Your nurse will tell you how long to keep it on, or if you need to replace it after you leave hospital.
Some dressings are waterproof so you can shower or bath with them on, but others should be kept dry. Again, your nurse should explain about this before you go home.
Your wound will heal in stages. At first it may feel sore and look bruised. A scab will form and then healthy new tissue will start to replace it. Your wound may feel tight while this is happening.
As stale blood or fluid can form under a wound, you'll probably have one or two small tubes, called drains, in your chest to drain stale blood or fluid away. These drains will be removed when there is little or no fluid coming out, usually a few days after your operation.
Your arm on the side where you had your operation may feel stiff and you may not be able to move it as well as usual. You will probably be given some exercises to do to help your mobility.
Some women do get longer-term swelling and movement problems in their arm, especially if they've had node clearance. This is called lymphoedema, and needs special treatment.
Be careful not to hurt the arm or hand on the side of your treated breast as this can increase your risk of lymphoedema. If your arm is painful or starts to swell, be sure to tell your doctor or breast cancer nurse.
At first, you'll have a dressing over your wound. Your nurse will tell you how long to keep it on, or if you need to replace it after you leave hospital.
Some dressings are waterproof so you can shower or bath with them on, but others should be kept dry. Again, your nurse should explain about this before you go home.
Your wound will heal in stages. At first it may feel sore and look bruised. A scab will form and then healthy new tissue will start to replace it. Your wound may feel tight while this is happening.
As stale blood or fluid can form under a wound, you'll probably have one or two small tubes, called drains, in your chest to drain stale blood or fluid away. These drains will be removed when there is little or no fluid coming out, usually a few days after your operation.
Your arm on the side where you had your operation may feel stiff and you may not be able to move it as well as usual. You will probably be given some exercises to do to help your mobility.
Some women do get longer-term swelling and movement problems in their arm, especially if they've had node clearance. This is called lymphoedema, and needs special treatment.
If your arm is painful or starts to swell, be sure to tell your doctor or breast
cancer nurse.
Also within "Treatment"
- Follow up
- Surgery
-
- Lumpectomy
- Mastectomy
-
- Care of your mastectomy wound
- Lymphoedema
- Node clearance
- Node sampling
- Sentinel node biopsy
- Breast reconstruction
- Radiotherapy
- Drug therapy
- Complementary therapies
