![]() ![]() Axillary seromas can be treated with aspiration (removing the fluid with a needle) or by placing a drain into the seroma. Your surgeon can diagnose a seroma by examining you and if needed by using ultrasound. If it is larger, it may show up as a bulge in the armpit. Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiation are also at higher risk for developing a seroma because they do not heal as well.Īn axillary seroma may feel like a soft lump under the arm on the side of axillary surgery. Vigorous upper arm activity may predispose you to developing an axillary seroma. Risks and Complications of Lymph Node Surgery: Collection of Lymph Fluid (Seroma): The fluid that traveled through the lymph nodes may accumulate in the space. Your surgeon will give you instructions on when you may resume exercising with your affected arm. A drain will create suction to pull the fluid out of the space and close the space, and help prevent lymphatic fluid accumulation. If there is a large open space with low pressure, fluid will freely collect there. The analogy of a dam bursting if there is too much upstream pressure can be used to explain how this may occur. If there is too much pressure on the lymphatic channels after lymph node surgery, these sealed lymphatic channels can break open and cause a lymph fluid collection (called a seroma). Age, BMI were the factors influencing seroma formation in the patients undergoing mastectomy with axillary lymph node. If the space is large and many lymph nodes were removed, a drain may be placed to help close that space. ![]() During an axillary dissection and sentinel lymph node biopsy there is a space where the lymph nodes were removed. These lymphatic channels are sealed close during surgery with heat (electrocautery), vibration (ultrasound dissection) or mechanical closure (suture or clips). When lymph nodes are removed the lymphatic channels are disrupted. The surgical sampling of the lymph nodes in breast cancer, which involves removing lymph nodes to be sent to the pathologist, is with sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary dissection. Part of breast cancer staging is to see if cancer has traveled to the axillary lymph nodes. Cancer cells from the breast can break away and travel to the lymph nodes. This system is part of the body’s immune system to fight infection and disease, including cancer. The lymph fluid flows through these channels and is filtered in the lymph nodes. The lymphatic channels are like streams and the lymph nodes are like ponds with a filtration system. The swelling increases beyond the site of the surgery - this could be a sign of lymphedema (a condition where the lymphatic system in the body stops functioning properly and results in swelling, most often of a limb).The lymphatic system is part of the body’s defense mechanism. You notice signs of infection, such as redness, warmth, or tenderness The amount of fluid seems to be increasing or the seroma is putting pressure on the healing area Please contact our practice and notify your Surgeon if: Rarely, it may not fully resolve, which may mean a small seroma persists, however your surgeon will discuss all available options. Sometimes, the seroma may have to be drained on multiple occasions. Many seromas can be reabsorbed back into your body over a period of a few months and require no intervention. However, if the affected area became very swollen, painful or the seroma does not improve, your doctor may need to use a needle and syringe to drain the fluid. The site of the surgery may become swollen and feels like there is hard lump under the skin. A seroma can appear a week after surgery or after drainage tubes have been removed. Your surgeon may place a drain in the surgical site to control the fluid initially. Repair of a Large Abdominal or Groin Hernia Removal of a Soft tissue tumour or Large Lipoma Lymph Node clearance – of the axilla, groin or neck Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy - for melanoma or breast cancer Seromas can happen after the following surgery The fluid can make the area feel hard and this can become uncomfortable. A seroma is a build-up of straw-coloured bodily fluids in an area where tissue has been removed at surgery.
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