Is It OK to Just Wait for a Large Seroma to Disappear on Its Own? (photo)

This must be drained.  At this point in time, it may be necessary to reopen your abdomen and place basting sutures to close the space and prevent further fluid accumulation.  If drainage persists several days after placing a drain, injecting solutions to cause closure of the pocket or reoperation may be necessary.  Large seromas do not go away without treatment and, once the pocket is matured, only additional measures such as injections of various chemicals or open exploration will solve the problem.

Hi there Amelia,

I agree with the other responses. If the seroma is large then it should be drained, the question is, whether or not it is large, and that is difficult to tell from the photos. An examination should be able to determine how much of your swelling is infact seroma.

Draining the seroma is pretty safe and unlikely to cause an infection if done properly.

I'm not sure how long you are in Europe for, but perhaps you could get whichever surgeon you are seeing there, to contact your plastic surgeon for reassurance. 

Hope that helps,

 

Richard Bloom

Plastic Surgeon

Board Chairman Plastic Surgery

Melbourne, Australia