How did you treat chestwall hematoma after breast augmentation?

I had implants removed, and when the doctor did, he found a large hematoma and removed it as well. One year later, I woke up with my left chest wall swollen and in pain, and the right chest wall was swollen, but not as much. I had a CT Scan done, and it showed a hematoma the size of a lemon on the right, and the size of a fifty cent piece on the left. Any suggestions?

wow.. sorry to hear that.. i am now a month post op and the implant that was higher is coming down, slooowly..but nonetheless it is coming down.. i wear the breast strap at night or when home, but surgeon said i should wear more often if i want to help it drop. my pec muscle on the left was much tighter and narrower than my right side. i suppose they may never look identical but as long as the left one drops like my right i don't even mind.. i never had a hematoma after surgery but did experience the spasms, only while running while exercising and that was in the beginning 2 weeks.. that has gone away now when i run and all seems to be progressing as it should according to surgeon.. i do know that he said capsular contracture can happen at any time, which i didn't know, i thought that was something that would happen in the beginning right after surgery so i thought maybe i was in the clear but he said you have to keep up with massage and displacing the implant so that you do not form cap contrac.. so i am..

I also had breast aug under the muscle with saline implants. six days post-op I discovered a tight burning feeling and contacted my PS. The nurse said I was having a muscle spasm and to take one of the pills they prescribed and to call her back in half hour. When I called her back and to tell her it was getting worse she continued to tell me about the muscle spasms and to grab onto the side of a wall (corner) and stretch out my peck muscles. After following her advice the pain kept getting worse. That evening my PC contacted me and said it sounds like a hematoma and to make arrangements to drive to his office. My husband and I loaded up and drove 1 ½ hours to his office on a Friday night and he my doc assured me it was a hematoma. He said to take a deep breath and he was going to try to “Tap” the hematoma. Meaning to extract it with a very large gauged syringe. No numbing meds or pain kills, it was just time to deal with the pain. No success. He hooked up a bag of saline solution and once again tried to dilute the hematoma hoping it would brake down better. Still no success. He said the hematoma was so thick and about the size of a softball and I would have to under go emergency surgery since it was between my clavicle and implant and to close to my heart and lungs. My PS warned me that there could possibly be a chance on ripping the implant. At that point I was in so much pain it didn’t matter to me if it ripped or how much this was going to cost. Off to surgery again and he went thru the same incision. He said he simply drained the saline, removed the implant and he found the hematoma. My peck muscle was ripped six inches long and this was one of the biggest hematoma he had seen. He was able to replace the implant and fill it back to the same size. Recovery was much easier the second go around. Although I was not sent home with the “Pain Pump”, he had stitched a drain underneath my arm pit to help extract the natural fluids. 3 ½ years later my sensitivity is not the same as the “normal” one and my implant had dropped dramatically compared to the other. I still do not feel comfortable in tank tops with built in bras or swim suites. My “normal” breast is pointing down and the “corrected” breast is sagging at the bottom. I was a very small B with some sagging to begin with and now I’m a DD with two completely different looking breast. My husband has given me the “OK” to have them fixed, however I know I will have silicone ones next time. My advice is not to wait if you start to experience something like this. Seek medical attention ASAP as you would rather be safe than sorry.

I had breast aug just two weeks ago tomorrow. I went through the areola. My right breast is perfect and my left one is higher than the right and not rounded on sides like my right one. The implant hasn't come down yet. It is a little flat on the side yet and underneath I feel like I can feel where the pocket was made. It is a bit hard and swelled compared to right side. Is this normal? I see my surgeon next week again and intend on asking but in meantime, trying to see if anyone experienced this. Also wanted to know if this means its capsular contracture starting.. I have no pain.

The original post was several months ago and probably resolved by now, but I hope that my input will be helpful to someone out there going through the same thing. My hematoma occurred 9 days post-op and on the same day that my doctor left for vacation. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped and I was able to wait to do anything until he returned. I did go to see his back up doctor while he was gone and she recommended an evacuation but said that there was a possibility that I might not have to have one. I was terrified and did not want to go in to surgery again. I was also an emotional wreck, worn out from the physical recovery, the ongoing pain and the anxiety. And I was concerned about the cost of another surgery. I saw my doctor the first morning that he returned and he also recommended the evacuation to be done the next day. He cited risk of capsular contraction, infection and unevenness as the reasons for wanting to do the surgery. So I agreed to have the surgery and I am really glad that I did. The evacuation surgery was done under general anesthesia and the PS charged me $425 to pay for the anesthesia and operating room It is now 5 days post-op from the second surgery and the breasts are even in size, the pain is almost completely gone and I am very excited about the results. I still have a lot of bruising from the hematoma and the left nipple is lower than the right side, but this is from being stretched and I am told that it can be easily corrected in the office under local anesthesia if it still needs it later. I'm glad that I did the evacuation surgery and I recommend it if you are uncertain. I hope this helps, it was what I was looking for when I was going throughout it... ;-)

*Responding to your comment on mine * As far as the heat. It really helped and felt great and was soothing and the hardness would soften and made massages a little easier too. I do notice more scar tissue build up. I read and alot of doctors said warm heat would help break a hematoma up. Some said nothing helps but time. Personally it felt awesome. I purchased a rice bag on ebay and warmed it up for 1 minute and would reheat several times and heat up all areas of my chest. I am going through that somewhat depression too at times.. One day I really love them and the next day I am pointing out all the dislikes. My left is a little bigger then my right, but it was slightly bigger before too. I can't feel my nipples yet, and the left scar being to high drives me insane. The right one feels to tight and on an on. Then the next minute, I love them. So only time will tell. Dr. W even took a little more skin off my left one to help make me more even, and told me there would be a slight but not noticeable difference. I noticed!!!!!!!!!!! it only helped slightly so far. I keep telling myself 3 months, and to be patient. So keep your head up and post some pictures and see what other have to say. Good Luck...

I hope they can figure this out if they open you up again. Are you confident in your doc, or do you think a second opinion might be needed if you haven't gotten one? I know my doc waited one week only and said he didn't feel comfortable waiting any longer. Hopefully you'll get lucky and it will just be fluid and drain right out when they make the incision again. Good luck!

I had the ultrasound but being under the muscle they saw nothing, the radiologist actually came in herself to look around. The left breast feels like it dropped but the top is large and hard, I have one cleavage and it is not pretty. I have two months until we move across country, I need it fix now, it has been 7 weeks post op I feel if it was meant to go down it would have by now. Today I go back so we can think about what to do. I think I might be going back to surgery.

Not fun to go thru when you are so excited for the new "girls". It is hard to wait when they are not looking normal. My second surgery was very quick, and so worth it. My PS said my insurance should cover it because it was a complication. If not I think my hubby is going to have a fit! I would ask for an ultrasound and see exactly whats going on. From what I've read it's pretty weird to have any swelling.

Congrats. I really hope mines go down without PS having to go back into the incision. It has been over 5 weeks for me, I am ready to heal not do surgery again, but I cannot walk around with one cleavage.

I ended up going in for a second surgery. When he opened through the same incision, a bunch of fluid came out and my implant slid down inot place. Now I'm fine. It was not a hematoma after all. I love them! They're great now!

I posted something similar and still waiting for advice. Please let me know what you find out. I had my surgery about 5 weeks ago and have a huge lump started a little over a week ago. My PS told me warm compresses and wait it should go down. The left breast still sits high and swollen.