getting through a hematoma

Demitra · 11-07-2009, 01:01 PM

So I had my long awaited surgery on monday ( 5 days ago)..It went very well. I came out of the anesthetic feeling alert and clear. I headed home at 11:00, and prepared to recover. I layed around for most of the day while my dh cared for the children, and helped me with what I needed. ( Quite an interesting role reversal I must say --I kinda like it

)

I had the surgery at 8:00 am that morning..I was home by 1:30pm. We live approx 1.5 hours away from the clinic.

At around 5 pm I started noticing that my left breast was swelling at a more rapid pace then the right. At first it was just a little..so I kept a watch on it.. Before surgery I had it mentioned to me on more than one occasion by the nursing staff etc to be watchful for certain signs... She even underlined it on my post op care sheet..

Sooo as I monitored my left breast it continued to puff out and become soar..Within 2 hours it was noticeably larger than the other, and far more soar. They had said that if I noticed one breast 25-30% larger than the other to call them.. but who can tell for sure?! SO of course I measured them.
The left one was 2.5 inches puffier under the breast bone the the other.

I called the 24 hour nurse.

She called my surgeon

My surgeon called me

<time lapse 4 minutes total>

I noticed when I leaned forward that my left breast was puffing over towards the right at the cleavage line, and on the bottom it looked like a rectangular shunt had been pushed under my skin.. and then I noticed the bruising....
I had no bruising before.. I told this all to my surgeon as we spoke on the phone,,,

He said calmly and firmly..

" You need to come in right away"
It was 7:00pm.

So I had to shuttle myself back into the truck gather all my crap, and make the 1.5 hour journey back to kelowna... (Well I should say my dh did all the gathering and shuttling).. But what a disappointment- here I thought the traveling and nerves were over..and I have to do the whole thing again! THE SAME FREAKIN DAY!

Off we went...

May I say.. my surgeon and his team are phenomenal. Within the hour I had called they had assembled (after hours)...

three surgical nurses, a triage nurse, the anesthesiologist, and my surgeon.
All standing in a line waiting for me.

My surgeon checked me out- "yes thats real".. off we went again..

I had a hematoma.

By this point my breast was hugely mis-shapen, and I was bruising all under the breast crease..

I got put under again...They went in and cleaned out the pocket,,evacuated the blood collected...took out the implant, cleaned it, repositioned it...
I had a drain tube put in.. which I am still sporting..

So once again I came out clear and level headed.. But man do I get the shakes coming out of being under..yikes!
I went home and rested.. It was past midnight...

I am on day five.. and I am feeling awesome..comparatively

A nurse phones me everyday, to check my drainage count.

I have to be under 30CC of blood for this bag to come out.

It looks like I will go back on monday and have it removed.

While this whole complication was a pain, it could not have been dealt with more swiftly or perfectly. I feel very grateful that I was so well taken care of.

Oh, and my boobs ARE AWESOME!!!!

Thanks for listening

taydev · 11-07-2009, 01:43 PM

wow what an ordeal! im glad everthing turned out fine and the medical team did an excellent job. I think had a slight case of hematoma but it went away on its own i guess. it was a painful, large and hard dark area on my inner left boob (which is still slightly bigger than my right) it looked like a big ole bruise. so glad its gone. yours seemed pretty severe though, it must have been scary. glad you pulled it through and heres to a fabulous booby future!

sweetm · 11-07-2009, 01:48 PM

Thanks for sharing your experience - it lets me know what I should look out for.

You must be so happy with the care you got from your surgeon and his team - I think they deserve an A+!

Get well soon.

mprs · 11-07-2009, 01:50 PM

You are soooo Lucky! I got Hematomy a few weeks after a revision surgery, and when I called the office, one of the doctors that did the surgery on me, yelled at me and told me "I did NOT have Hematomy!" I had tears in my eyes, I felt like I was complaining too much! Anyway, that was on a Friday, and by Monday it had gotten worse, and I was in the Hospital by Wednesday with guess what: you guessed: Hematoma.

But that's not the end of the story. My doctors apparently did the same cleaning out procedure and putting the drain in me as you had gotten. But, I found out later that my doctor wasnt really experienced with this whole thing. From day one, the blood wasnt even coming out of my drain, it was pouring down my chest out of the whole the drain was in! And when I went to the office a few days later, he tried to fix it (the whole time conversing with some technician or I don't know if it was a nurse or not, but he shouldnt have been asking and discussing with HER about this!

Here's the last kicker: and while discussing this with her, while trying to fix the drain, he broke the drain tube, AND THAT WAS IT! So as far as I was concerned the surgery was basically done for nothing because my breast kept filling up again! I would push the blood at of the whole the drain was in to get relief!

It healed hard as a brick, even though he said it would probably go away on it's own. It never did soften-up, even though it stopped hurting for awhile, but I developed CC in it ! That was 5 mths ago. It has now progressed to stage 2/3, and I need a capsulectomy, along with pocket deformity, knuckles from the implant sticking out of my cleavage area, and the Bottoming Out and Double Bubble came back on the other side from a prior revision!

Getting a re-do soon! Hopefully will come out OK!

GoodKarma · 11-07-2009, 04:37 PM

You must have been so scared. I am so happy to hear that everything turned out great for you!

gingersnpr · 11-07-2009, 05:12 PM

Hey we are twins! I had to go into surgery right after I came out also for hematoma! Wow. I am glad you are now feeling better and got it all fixed. Going under twice for me sucked fpr me because I got bad headaches from all that Anesthesia junk

how are you feeling?

Demitra · 11-07-2009, 06:25 PM

Thanks everyone! It was actually quite nerve racking..

You are right- my surgeon and his team definitely get an A++ for their performance!

I am healing well- Today is day 5. My left breast is still a little more swollen than the right- but not by much at all.. I have bruising etc..
I did put up pics in my album which show the hematoma bruising and the drain tube if your interested- just fr me!

Horizon41 · 11-10-2009, 09:52 AM

wow just read your story hope you are doing great now that the drain is gone

On to recovery and dropping and fluffing

and no more complications

Sammie_ · 11-13-2009, 06:47 PM

Wow! what a story! I am glad your surgical team swung into action straight away and averted what could have been a disaster. Hope you are healing nicely now

back2me · 11-20-2009, 09:45 PM

Demitra,
I have basically the same story as you! I had surgery yesterday and developed a hemotoma that evening. I was in the dr. office by 11:30 PM, then to the hospital for surgery. Came out around 3AM. Spent the rest of the night at the hospital and got home today around lunch. I was scared and in sooo much pain. My swelling and pain was bad like yours and I knew something was wrong. I'm just glad we got it fixed before it got any worse. My dr. was great and so sorry that this happened - he even had flowers sent to my home today! I haven't had any bruising yet and I didn't have to get the drains. I'm still more swollen on the bad side, but nothing like last night! Glad you are doing better and hopefully we are both on the road to recovery. Do you have any idea if insurance will pay for the 2nd surgery? I am already dreading to see the dr. bill arrive for that!

vainღ♥♡jane · 11-20-2009, 10:52 PM

omg! seems like i need to do more research cuz i have no idea what that is!

CHSS · 02-11-2010, 11:13 AM

Do you mind me asking what doctor this was in kelowna? thanks

11-07-2009, 01:01 PM	#1
Demitra Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 129 Thanks: 44 Thanked 38 Times in 37 Posts	getting through a hematoma So I had my long awaited surgery on monday ( 5 days ago)..It went very well. I came out of the anesthetic feeling alert and clear. I headed home at 11:00, and prepared to recover. I layed around for most of the day while my dh cared for the children, and helped me with what I needed. ( Quite an interesting role reversal I must say --I kinda like it ) I had the surgery at 8:00 am that morning..I was home by 1:30pm. We live approx 1.5 hours away from the clinic. At around 5 pm I started noticing that my left breast was swelling at a more rapid pace then the right. At first it was just a little..so I kept a watch on it.. Before surgery I had it mentioned to me on more than one occasion by the nursing staff etc to be watchful for certain signs... She even underlined it on my post op care sheet.. Sooo as I monitored my left breast it continued to puff out and become soar..Within 2 hours it was noticeably larger than the other, and far more soar. They had said that if I noticed one breast 25-30% larger than the other to call them.. but who can tell for sure?! SO of course I measured them. The left one was 2.5 inches puffier under the breast bone the the other. I called the 24 hour nurse. She called my surgeon My surgeon called me <time lapse 4 minutes total> I noticed when I leaned forward that my left breast was puffing over towards the right at the cleavage line, and on the bottom it looked like a rectangular shunt had been pushed under my skin.. and then I noticed the bruising.... I had no bruising before.. I told this all to my surgeon as we spoke on the phone,,, He said calmly and firmly.. " You need to come in right away" It was 7:00pm. So I had to shuttle myself back into the truck gather all my crap, and make the 1.5 hour journey back to kelowna... (Well I should say my dh did all the gathering and shuttling).. But what a disappointment- here I thought the traveling and nerves were over..and I have to do the whole thing again! THE SAME FREAKIN DAY! Off we went... May I say.. my surgeon and his team are phenomenal. Within the hour I had called they had assembled (after hours)... three surgical nurses, a triage nurse, the anesthesiologist, and my surgeon. All standing in a line waiting for me. My surgeon checked me out- "yes thats real".. off we went again.. I had a hematoma. By this point my breast was hugely mis-shapen, and I was bruising all under the breast crease.. I got put under again...They went in and cleaned out the pocket,,evacuated the blood collected...took out the implant, cleaned it, repositioned it... I had a drain tube put in.. which I am still sporting.. So once again I came out clear and level headed.. But man do I get the shakes coming out of being under..yikes! I went home and rested.. It was past midnight... I am on day five.. and I am feeling awesome..comparatively A nurse phones me everyday, to check my drainage count. I have to be under 30CC of blood for this bag to come out. It looks like I will go back on monday and have it removed. While this whole complication was a pain, it could not have been dealt with more swiftly or perfectly. I feel very grateful that I was so well taken care of. Oh, and my boobs ARE AWESOME!!!! Thanks for listening

11-07-2009, 01:48 PM	#3
sweetm D&F'd. Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ontario Posts: 439 Thanks: 153 Thanked 204 Times in 167 Posts	Thanks for sharing your experience - it lets me know what I should look out for. You must be so happy with the care you got from your surgeon and his team - I think they deserve an A+! Get well soon. __________________ 5'6" 125 pounds Before: 34 A/small B After: 34C 330cc mod profile, round, textured, under the muscle, crease incision Boobs born on November 3, 2009!

11-07-2009, 04:37 PM	#5
GoodKarma Join Date: May 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada Posts: 166 Thanks: 44 Thanked 52 Times in 48 Posts	You must have been so scared. I am so happy to hear that everything turned out great for you! __________________ -

11-07-2009, 05:12 PM	#6
gingersnpr Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: michigan Posts: 588 Thanks: 207 Thanked 277 Times in 253 Posts	Hey we are twins! I had to go into surgery right after I came out also for hematoma! Wow. I am glad you are now feeling better and got it all fixed. Going under twice for me sucked fpr me because I got bad headaches from all that Anesthesia junk how are you feeling? __________________ 6'3" 127lbs 28 ribcage 30G/32F breast augmentation date 11/4/08 Mentor Implants 425 cc's High profile smooth silicone

11-07-2009, 06:25 PM	#7
Demitra Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 129 Thanks: 44 Thanked 38 Times in 37 Posts	Thanks everyone! It was actually quite nerve racking.. You are right- my surgeon and his team definitely get an A++ for their performance! I am healing well- Today is day 5. My left breast is still a little more swollen than the right- but not by much at all.. I have bruising etc.. I did put up pics in my album which show the hematoma bruising and the drain tube if your interested- just fr me! __________________ -

11-07-2009, 01:43 PM	#2
taydev Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 94 Thanks: 16 Thanked 23 Times in 23 Posts	wow what an ordeal! im glad everthing turned out fine and the medical team did an excellent job. I think had a slight case of hematoma but it went away on its own i guess. it was a painful, large and hard dark area on my inner left boob (which is still slightly bigger than my right) it looked like a big ole bruise. so glad its gone. yours seemed pretty severe though, it must have been scary. glad you pulled it through and heres to a fabulous booby future!

11-07-2009, 01:50 PM	#4
mprs mprs Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 922 Thanks: 1 Thanked 303 Times in 273 Posts	You are soooo Lucky! I got Hematomy a few weeks after a revision surgery, and when I called the office, one of the doctors that did the surgery on me, yelled at me and told me "I did NOT have Hematomy!" I had tears in my eyes, I felt like I was complaining too much! Anyway, that was on a Friday, and by Monday it had gotten worse, and I was in the Hospital by Wednesday with guess what: you guessed: Hematoma. But that's not the end of the story. My doctors apparently did the same cleaning out procedure and putting the drain in me as you had gotten. But, I found out later that my doctor wasnt really experienced with this whole thing. From day one, the blood wasnt even coming out of my drain, it was pouring down my chest out of the whole the drain was in! And when I went to the office a few days later, he tried to fix it (the whole time conversing with some technician or I don't know if it was a nurse or not, but he shouldnt have been asking and discussing with HER about this! Here's the last kicker: and while discussing this with her, while trying to fix the drain, he broke the drain tube, AND THAT WAS IT! So as far as I was concerned the surgery was basically done for nothing because my breast kept filling up again! I would push the blood at of the whole the drain was in to get relief! It healed hard as a brick, even though he said it would probably go away on it's own. It never did soften-up, even though it stopped hurting for awhile, but I developed CC in it ! That was 5 mths ago. It has now progressed to stage 2/3, and I need a capsulectomy, along with pocket deformity, knuckles from the implant sticking out of my cleavage area, and the Bottoming Out and Double Bubble came back on the other side from a prior revision! Getting a re-do soon! Hopefully will come out OK!

11-10-2009, 09:52 AM	#8
Horizon41 Hope Revision Holds Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 2,347 Thanks: 286 Thanked 1,012 Times in 962 Posts	wow just read your story hope you are doing great now that the drain is gone On to recovery and dropping and fluffing and no more complications __________________ Mother of 3 sons all nursed over a year Mentor 500cc's HP 6/29/09 5'10 125lbs BWD 12.5 ribcage 27 32DDD/34DD Diagnosed with CC of my right on 8/5/09 cleared of CC on 11/9/09 Pocket Revision on 1/25/10 on Left for Bottoming out

11-13-2009, 06:47 PM	#9
Sammie_ Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 200 Thanks: 19 Thanked 75 Times in 68 Posts	Wow! what a story! I am glad your surgical team swung into action straight away and averted what could have been a disaster. Hope you are healing nicely now __________________ Don Revis, MD

11-20-2009, 09:45 PM	#10
back2me Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Gainesville, Georgia Posts: 30 Thanks: 1 Thanked 20 Times in 13 Posts	Demitra, I have basically the same story as you! I had surgery yesterday and developed a hemotoma that evening. I was in the dr. office by 11:30 PM, then to the hospital for surgery. Came out around 3AM. Spent the rest of the night at the hospital and got home today around lunch. I was scared and in sooo much pain. My swelling and pain was bad like yours and I knew something was wrong. I'm just glad we got it fixed before it got any worse. My dr. was great and so sorry that this happened - he even had flowers sent to my home today! I haven't had any bruising yet and I didn't have to get the drains. I'm still more swollen on the bad side, but nothing like last night! Glad you are doing better and hopefully we are both on the road to recovery. Do you have any idea if insurance will pay for the 2nd surgery? I am already dreading to see the dr. bill arrive for that!

11-20-2009, 10:52 PM	#11
vainღ♥♡jane throw some Ds on it! Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Biloxi Mississippi Posts: 177 Thanks: 60 Thanked 45 Times in 45 Posts	omg! seems like i need to do more research cuz i have no idea what that is! __________________ 20 years old 5'8, 154 and losing pre breast augmentation: 38 b, 36 c (wrong fit) post breast augmentation: i want a full D

02-11-2010, 11:13 AM	#12
CHSS Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: B.C Posts: 60 Thanks: 2 Thanked 13 Times in 13 Posts	Do you mind me asking what doctor this was in kelowna? thanks

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