Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. You should also seek emergency medical attention if swelling causes the surgical incision to open up or if you notice pus draining from the incision site. It is important to keep the wound clean to keep out bacteria and other germs. Preventing infection at the surgery site is another important way of avoiding the formation of seromas. Typically, seromas form right after surgery when drains are not used. A seroma can still occur up to 1 month after surgery and the removal of the drains.
When any injury, including that related to surgery, occurs to a tissue, your body responds with inflammation. This inflammation is what leads to the main fluid build-up. If you have drainage tubes for your wound after you return home from surgery, it’s important that you follow the instructions given to you by your doctor. The tubes need to be kept clean, so if you are changing them with your hands, make sure to wash them thoroughly before handling the tubes. Also, make sure you empty the drainage tubes as instructed and don’t obstruct drainage by leaning or sleeping on the tubes. Another type of treatment that is sometimes used by surgeons is sclerotherapy, which involves filling the seroma cavity with an irritating substance that seals the area.
Treatment
Just as in brachioplasty, we also place the patients on 30 days of the postoperative diuretics. However, we do employ aggressive compression in the thighs. We have always utilized compression garments after surgery, but we are not sure of their efficacy in reducing seromas.
3 These studies demonstrate that although many techniques may hold promise for reducing seromas, none are by any means a perfect solution. Next, we inject an astringent into the pocket after aspiration, which we will leave in place for 10 to 15 minutes, then aspirate. Again, this regimen is repeated every 2 to 3 days combined with compression. The astringent that we employ is doxycycline, which is available in powder form and can be diluted to different amounts based on the volume of fluid needed to bathe the entire pocket. We have not found the actual concentration to be critical and typically utilize a single 100-mg vial diluted into a volume that will adequately bathe the entire seroma cavity.
An Overview of Breast Seromas
From 2014 to 2019, a total of 15 patients were treated for recurrent chronic seromas with the proposed surgical approach. Five cases were MLLs, while 10 cases were postoperative seromas. The patients were between 33 and 79 years old, and they were followed up at 4 weeks and 3 and 6 months after surgery. We have not utilized drains during brachioplasty for over 15 years.
External netting can be employed with closed procedures such as the one shown here as well as open procedures such as facelifts, open gynecomastia procedures, etc. In the case of thigh reduction surgery, the netting would only involve the surface area that has been operated on. If we did, we would not simply remove the capsule and hope that the seroma not recur. Despite a significant reduction in our seroma rate over 2 decades of practice, they still occur and must be dealt with. During our first few years of practice, we treated seromas in the more traditional manner of performing serial aspirations once a week. Finally, if ongoing drainage failed to resolve, we would return to the operating room and excise the capsule.
Pain Relief for Wisdom Teeth Removal
These are filled with a yellowish to white fluid called serous fluid. This is the same fluid commonly seen in blisters and fresh cuts. With strict editorial sourcing guidelines, we only link to academic research institutions, reputable media sites and, when research is available, medically peer-reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses (1, 2, etc.) are clickable links to these studies. If a seroma does not resolve on its own , there is a possibility it can become infected.
Talk to your surgeon about the best ways to prevent a seroma after surgery. A seroma is a complication that can occur as a result of surgery. Most often, a seroma will develop at the site of a surgical incision or where tissue was removed, but in some cases it occurs after an injury.
What complications may be caused be seromas?
Note that the numbers in parentheses (1, 2, etc.) are clickable links to medically peer-reviewed studies. If you've had breast cancer, the hardest part about coping with a seroma is likely the worry it can cause over cancer coming back. Getting lumps checked out right away can help ease your mind as well as catch any reoccurrence quickly. Suggested that a certain suturing technique could minimize seroma formation. Applying heat via a heating pad or warm, moist compresses can help encourage the fluid to drain, speed the healing process, and reduce pain.
The first thing we learned was that if one aspirates a seroma once a week, it is much less likely to resolve than if it is aspirated every 2 to 3 days. We also became aware that if a fluid collection was small and not increasing in size, it can be observed and will often resolve without treatment. Probably the most fallacious fact that we discovered is that a seroma capsule must always be excised. Our experience demonstrated in many situations where we had to reoperate on an area of previous surgery, for reasons other than a seroma, there was a capsule present but it was empty. Lastly, we also noted that when we did excise a seroma capsule, it was not an effective means of preventing recurrence.
Five studies contained unilateral DIEP flap breast reconstruction cases only. Despite innumerable advances in technology and techniques, seromas remain a challenging problem for many plastic surgeons. A 2016 review of over 7000 patients across a wide variety of procedures demonstrated wildly different seroma rates despite numerous interventions. An example of the utilization of “external netting” is shown in this diagram. After the medial thighs are liposuctioned and the surgeon wants to increase the contraction of the skin and prevent fluid accumulation, external netting can be utilized.
Though most seromas are harmless, patients should pay attention to them. If a seroma becomes extremely large or if any other complications develop, patients should contact a doctor. People undergoing surgery should be aware of the signs and symptoms.
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