Question:
Seromas not healing

I am 10 weeks post open rny. I have two seroma's that continue to leak fluid. It is not infected and I change the dressings daily. How long do seromas last it has been at least 5 weeks now?    — John P. (posted on April 28, 2003)

April 28, 2003
Hi, I would not worry to much about the drainage although it is easy for me to say. I too had drainage from the Jvac site for such a long time. The liquid you are draining is from the fat that was cut through to get to your organs and that fat turned to liquid therefore you are draining the liquid. Your wound has to heal form the inside out and you would not want that liquid to be trapped because that would cause an infection. Although, your body is able to absorb some of the fluid it can not absorb all of it. I drained for 6 weeks. I was beside myself and I was very concerned. I even had a CAT Scan which really was not necessary. But it will heal and it will stop draining I promise. I was changing my dressing several times a day and boy were those dressings saturated. Take Care and let me know how it turns out.
   — train

April 28, 2003
The key is to watch for the amount...is the amount of fluid lessening? When I had my panniculectomy, I ended up with seromas that needed to be surgically repaired. The doc reopened the incision site, scratched up the inside of the seroma after removing the 'capsule' and then glued it together. Only then did they finally heal up. Seromas producing less than 60 cc's daily and gradually decreasing probably don't require surgery. Check with your doc for sure! Good Luck!
   — merri B.

April 28, 2003
Has the depth/width decreased very much? My (single) seroma healed at a rate of (about) a centimeter/week. Just stuck one of those long q-tips to the bottom, pulled it out and measured the "wetness". I went against my nurse's advice and let mine close when it was still about 5cm deep (but only about 2cm width). She said that it would develop into another seroma, but it didn't. I only stuffed mine for about three weeks, until the fluid stopped gushing out. For comparision, my wound was originally 9cm deep and 5cm wide.
   — Amy W.

April 28, 2003
Hi I just wanted to say I am kinda glad I am in the same boat mine is 6cm deep and about 2cm width and I am starting to give up that it will never heal still draining some and Home Health has been comming in 2 times a day to change dressing but now they only come 3 times a week and well you know I can not stand to do it myself hardly but I do let me know how you come along mine has been going on for about 3 weeks and I am only 4 weeks post -op and just barley 4 weeks LOL but good luck we will get threw this :-)
   — Kimberly M.

April 28, 2003
Mine took 5 or 6 weeks, it was also about 5 cm. deep. I found that when I really upped the protein as the nurse suggested I healed very quickly...towards the end it was at the rate of almost a centimeter less deep each day. Using a combination of shakes and food even that early on I made sure to get at least 75-80 gms of protein a day, more than the normal 60 recommended by my surgeon. Good luck, I know it seems hopeless, but it will heal!
   — Linda 1.