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Itching after mastectomy. Any suggestions?

I
ilovedenverMay 1, 2015

I had a mastectomy in August 2014. Last night for more than an hour and off and on today, I've had horrific itching sensations where I'm forever numb. I was brought to tears last night unable to 'scratch' the itch. Any advice for addressing this? I've had itching in the past but nothing like what I'm going through now. Thanks!

Answers (3)

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Dr. Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD
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Dr. Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
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Answered on May 7, 2015
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Dr. Richard J. Brown, MD
Dr. Richard J. Brown, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answered on May 7, 2015
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1 person found this helpful
Dr. George Commons, MD (retired)
Dr. George Commons, MD (retired)
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answered on May 1, 2015
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2 people found this helpful

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Dallas Buchanan, MD

From the look of your pictures, this is certainly not a typical healing result at 2 weeks after surgery. It looks as though you have either a wound infection or skin necrosis. I would suggest that you get in contact with the breast surgeon that performed your surgery as soon as possible as this...

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Allen Gabriel, MD, FACS

Thanks for your pic and questions.   From the picture it appears that you are healing and if a full thickness graft was done then majority of the areola is vaible and the nipple will take longer to vascularize.  You may lose some height which is very normal and some pigmentation....

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Allen Gabriel, MD, FACS

If a mastectomy is performed without reconstruction, your breast surgeon will be monitoring the drain output and if reconstruction is performed, your plastic surgeon will be monitoring the drain.  Generally we wait for drain output to be less than 30cc in a 24 hour period for two...

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M. Scott Haydon, MD

I'm not sure that you had a mastectomy. It appears you had a lift and possible reduction. If that is the case then the area can likely slowly heal in. If it is a mastectomy and there is an implant then that is a concern. This would be best addressed with your surgeon. Best of Luck!

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Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS

Another option not mentioned is sclerotherapy via the drain. After mastectomies, lymphatics are often surgically divided, and must heal or regenerate to take that lymphatic fluid away from the operative cavity. So, drainage for an extended period is fairly common. When this happens, time is ...

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