I have tunneling about 1 in. They have me packing the wound. How long can this take to heal?

Question

I had breast reduction surgery on the 5th of this month. On the 18th they removed the stitches. On the 19th the t-section started to bleed. Saw the plastic surgeon on the 22nd. She packed the wound and said there was a tunnel going to the right of my breast. I am instructed to change the packing once daily. Is there anything else I can do to speed up healing?

Drew Davis, MD · Answer

It is not uncommon to have some wound healing issues and need to do some packing after a breast reduction, especially at the t-point.  With diligent wound care, these areas will all heal in time, but the time needed depends on the size of the wound and your body's healing rate.  Some things that I encourage patients to do to help maximize their healing potential are to perform the dressing changes more frequently (2-3 times per day) and to take a multivitamin, zinc, and eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Matt Erdmann, MBChB, FRCS(Eng), FRCS (Plast) · Answer

The tunnelling is a wound which has opened up deep to the skin with one opening to the outside - this needs packing to stop the opening from closing off and creating a  possible closed infection or abscess. Dpeneding on the depth of the tunnel this should heal within 3-4 weeks usually by gradually reducing the length of the packing. Your body will heal the wound at its own pace, there is not much you can do to hurry it along, but there is a lot of harm you can do and delay healing by doing the wrong things!

Melih Erogul, MD (retired) · Answer

Hi and welcome to our forum!
I'm sorry to hear of your complication.
The operative procedure of breast reduction involves
separation of the skin and soft tissues of the breast from underlying breast
tissue. The skin and soft tissue is then advanced downward and the excess skin, soft tissue and breast tissue are removed and the incision is closed in an inverted "T" fashion.  
If there is impairment of the blood supply to the breast skin and
soft tissue, the segment of the flap the greatest distance from its blood
supply may not survive (at the junction of the inverted "T" flaps).
The cause of the blood supply impairment can range from effects
of smoking, diabetes mellitus, vascular disease, previous surgery in the
area (disrupting the normal blood supply), infection, or may totally
inapparent.  
Treatment consists of removal of the unhealthy tissue, followed by
intensive wound care. One looks for the development of granulation tissue, a
beefy red vascular tissue, to develop, after which time the wound will begin to
shrink. The speed of secondary wound contraction and healing depends upon the size of the defect. Most wounds will seal within several months. A regimen of frequent wound care is required after unhealthy
tissue is removed. 
Continue followup care with your plastic surgeon.
Best wishes...

I have tunneling about 1 in. They have me packing the wound. How long can this take to heal?

Answers (3)

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