hard lump in arm 2 wks post-op?

I have a rock-hard lump, about the size of a shooter marble but not as round, in my left arm under my incision... It hurts slightly if I press on it. Noticed it about 3 days ago. Should I be worried? There is no redness/discoloration, bruising or swelling around it, I don't have a fever and there are no other signs of infection. The incision above it looks fine.

I have my next re-check next Friday, and I'd just as soon wait for that instead of running in there over what seems like nothing. I've decided to apply heat 3x a day for 15 min and see what happens.

I understand no one can give me medical adivce (blah, blah, blah), but does this sound familiar to anyone? Did it go away on it's own? I googled seromas but they don't sound as hard as this is. If you had seromas, were they very hard to the touch?

I have really serious endometriosis too, and it causes my lymph nodes all over my body to be enlarged 24/7/365. I'm almost wondering if this isn't a lymph node thing as it is that time of the month and maybe between that and the surgery (and the fact that I have a cold), I just have an anrgy lymph node?

Wouldn't surprise me if it is a seroma, which is an accumulation of fluid under the skin. Those frequently occur along the incision line in brachioplasties. I have had a couple - one was definitely hard and when they squeezed it tightly through my skin, it actually ruptured and the fluid dispersed. Just felt like a pop - didn't hurt.

The other one I just had drained last week, but they couldn't get all the fluid out. Too much of it was still in the surrounding tissue, causing swelling. I was told to massage the area daily and purchase tighter compression garments.

Good luck!

From what I understand, seromas can get very hard, especially if they become encapsulated, however, I'm not sure that could happen in such a short time. I have a couple very, very hard spots--more the size of a regular marble--that my surgeon told me this week is a response to stitches and that they would resolve. That or scar tissue. I'd imagine in your case it would be more likely to be some sort of response to the stitch--or as you mentioned your endometriosis side effects.

Let us know what you find out!

Denise

Sounds like what I have seromas. My surgeon does not want to drain them because of infection and they tend to come back. Instead he wants the body to absorb them, this will take time but they are getting smaller and I'm of with his treatment plan, Also warm compresses and keeping them wrapped up helps. I have ditched the Ace bandages and am wearing a arm toneing shrug from MAIDFORM. they're awesome, comfortable and surgeon approved!

Thank you, guys!

I'm treating them (Ithink I actually have 3 now that I've gone poking around more)  as seromas with heat and they seem to be ever so slightly smaller today :)

I'll re-post next week after I talk to the doc but I think it'll be okay.

PS re: the Maidenform shrugs... I used to wear them everyday pre-op, for 2.5 years to hide the wingys lol... My surgeon okay'd them for post-op for me too but after he actually did the surgery they turned out to be too loose given the amount of arm I had left. I wish they'd fit better, they were SO MUCH more comfortable than the hideous compression shirt I'm wearing now!