Seroma after TT

I have been reading earlier posts about seromas in the arms after PS and I was wondering about having one after a TT. I developed a large squishy area above my incision at my pubic area. You can tell it is just a big pool of fluid because if you poke one side it ripples all the way to the other side. Reminds me of a water bed! It goes almost hip bone to hip bone and is about 2 inches wide. I called my Dr's office and told them what was going on the nurse said she thought it was a seroma, it was normal and not to worry about it. I could come in and see the doctor but it wasn't really necessary. Should I be more aggressive and go in and possibly have it drained or should I just suck it up and see if it goes away on its own? Has anyone ever had one that did go away on its own, if so how long does it take? If you had one drained how bad does it hurt? Mine is somewhat painful, more pressure than anything I guess. Anyway, if you can share your experiences it would help me out a lot.
Thanks,
Shanon

Hi Shanon,

It will eventually go away on its own.  Sounds like you have one exactly like mine.  Wearing the compression garment as much as you can helps a lot.  Mine wasn't quite so wide, so if you're concerned, I think I would go in just to have it checked out.  It's always something, isn't it???

Take care,

Vickie

For me and most other people, it ends up needed drained with a syringe. The skin can't stick together when a pool of fluid is keeping the skin from touching the tissue underneath.
Go in and ask to be drained.

Thanks ladies,
It really is always something, although it could be something MUCH worse so I am grateful for that! I think I have had a great recovery, really. I am keeping a close eye on it, I have an appt. this Tues. so I am going to see if I can hold off till then.
Shanon

 My plastic surgeon was adament about draining them because they can form a pseudobursa lining that continually causes fluid buildup and does not allow your skin to adhere to the muscle.  Also, my seromas became infected when I waited to have them drained.  I ended up needing another 3 surgeries to correct the chronic seromas and infected seromas.  A tight compression garment following the aspiration is also key to keeping them from refilling as soon.  I was aspirated several times - it doesn't hurt because the needle went into the incision line and I'm numb there. 

I totally agree with Jenie...dont let this build up. My PS sees me 2x per week to drain one in my arm, it is almost gone and wasnt really big. he said it is no problem as long as I get it drained but otherwise could lead into an infection and non adherence to the other wall where it is meant to adhere to. Please dont wait, get it taken care of. It doesnt hurt....

Another vote for going in to see your dr! Yes, in theory, it's fluid & it SHOULD absorb back within youor body.  My PS had me go on antibiotics though to prevent infection & mine had to be continuously drained...I ended up gaining 5 lbs of fluid! It stretched out my beautiful flat tummy I spent so much $$ on!  I wore my binder faithfully & still, it would fill right back up...he ended up having to go back in & restitch with a "quilting stitch" is what he called it & retighten everything.

Wearing the abdominal binder and compression garments on the arms didn't help mine, either... they still fill up again pretty quickly.

Lora

In addition to the seromas on my arms, I have a large one above the mons lift incision as well.  I have been having all of them drained 2x per week since surgery until this week (only draining once, finally!).  They WILL eventually go away (the body will eventually reabsorb the fluid), but you do not want it to pull excessively on the incision because of both the discomfort and the possibility of it causing the incision line to stretch or open up (depending on how long it has been since surgery).  The draining has not been painful at all for me (and was not when I had a seroma under another incision on my hip a few years ago, either)... and I always feel much BETTER after he drains them and releases the pressure.

Lora

I had one after my tt .I had an anchor cut and it was higher along the incision by my rib case/sternum..anyway DR had to aspirate it several times and it was so painful.. the removal of fluid helped.. compression is key too. My tt was1.5 years ago and that spot still hurts some times.
best of luck
Tricia