Seromas and Hematomas Removed with Dr. Petrosky and Dr. Staggers!

I am four weeks post op, Bad NEWS..I have been to 3 doctors here in Pensacola and no one will drain my seroma. My primary care said they were too big or else he would have done it, I went to see a general surgeon and he refused, then I went to another PS here and he wanted to charge me 3K. I ended up calling Dr. Robles and sending pictures and needless to say I will be going back to the DR in a few weeks.
Now check this out for all of you who are using RAQUEL...no contact after my surgery and SHE NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THE INSURANCE...yes.. Dr., Robles offers insurance that is only $150.00 extra in case you have complications, it will cover you up to $1500.00 but you have to pay for your flight.. Not only do I have to pay for a flight I have to pay for the hospital stay. It's still WAY cheaper than the states but it's gonna cost me about $1100.00 to go back.
I did contact other PS in Atlanta and they were gonna see me but it was going to cost $500-700 just to drain for one office visit.
I told Dr. Robles if I came back she would have to drain and INSERT another drain...it's pointless to go back just for a draining and then I develop more seromas...so this time I don't care if I have to leave them in for a year they are staying in...Seromas are no joke and I'm already paranoid..it' looks like a tumor...plus I have fluid draining from my belly button (so gross).
Dr. Robles is a perfectionist and I know she really doesn't want to open me back up because my incision is perfect but I begged her and said I had to have her word before I booked the flight..and she agreed! I makes me mad because I'm sure if I were in a REAL city like Atlanta or Virginia another PS would have no problem but since I'm in Pensacola where the population is 5...there are no doctors...or they try to get over on you because let's face it.... Who really comes to PENSACOLA, FL to have PS...uuummmm NOBODY!
So when I go see Dr. Robles she has agreed to:
Drain the fluid
Insert drains and fix my belly button issue all for under $600.00
Just to be clear Dr. Robles is not charging me, but I have to pay for the hospital stay, procedure and transportation (trans is $100)
OK so after looking at a post from Joy202 I decided to do a bit more research and I found a medical practice in Atlanta that will see me and drain the seromas for $250.00 on December 27th.... even if I have to come back to see them it's still cheaper that traveling back to the DR...I was in a panic mode because of the lack of doctors here in Pensacola that I just gave up...
Atlanta is only 3 hours from me and we already made plans to go before I found this doctors...The doctors do a lot of their outpatient surgeries in their office and so their cost is lower because they don't need access to the hospital.
On 12/27 I was able to get the fluid removed. There was a large knot below my breast I thought it was fluid that turned into scar tissue so when I arrived to the doctors office my blood pressure was high….like 144 over 100 high.
I was never in any pain but I knew something was wrong which is why I went to see all the doctors but no one would help locally. But luckily I found Dr. Petrosky with The Plastic Surgery Center in Marietta GA. As soon the doctor came in the room he was SO POLITE and he went to work…It didn’t matter where I had my surgery to him, within 5-10 minutes of him coming in the room he was draining me.


Dr. Petrosky was a bit unsure about the large lump under my breast and he did say that it was unusual. When he started to drain the lump, the blood was dark red. Dr. Petrosky said not to worry the color indicated that it was just a build up and there was no current bleeding. He said if the blood was bright red then he would have been concerned, it was a hematoma.
My tummy is still numb so when the needle was inserted I didn’t feel anything. Only when he applied pressure to get all the fluid is when I was able to feel the needle. The pain was bearable I was so glad I was getting the medical help I didn’t care and told him to do whatever necessary to get everything out. After he was done I was immediately back on the flat side. I asked about getting lymphatic massages but the doctor said no, he only wanted me to continue to wear my CG all day everyday unless I am showering. I scheduled a follow up appointment with him on the 7th. It’s been a few days since I was drained, I do feel a little bit of fluid that is in both areas that were drained but I’m not sure if is was left over from the drain or if I’m still draining. BUT nothing like what I had before.


I also asked if he though I should get another drain and the doctor said there was no need. Also I asked about putting a stitch in my belly button because of the leaking. The doctor explained that once he drained the fluid the BB would heal on it’s own and just to add ointment and keep it covered…I can already see a difference in my BB and it has begun to heal on it’s own.
I plan to make another page for this story alone so that ladies can use Dr. Petrosky if they have complications and they don’t like too far from Georgia. I ended up spending less money by going to Georgia than paying for another ticket to see Dr. Robles. And that’s with GOING BACK TWICE…including the gas and office visit. The first office visit was $250 the next visit will run $60-125 plus I don’t have to travel out of the country…so it was so worth it!

Hey ladies I had my second draining yesterday for the second visit was $100.00...feeling much better, thanks for posting...happy healing!

Hey ladies sorry it took me so long to respond the seromas get me down at times but I still have no regrets I can feel it inside but it’s really not noticeable to anyone else unless I point it out.

Great News I found another doctor closer and cheaper in Fairhope, Alabama (50 miles from me), his names is Dr. Staggers. He is very good and they only charged me $60.00 for the 3rd drain, which was on 1/22 (he drained about 10-12cc’s). I had an ultrasound done to help Dr. Staggers monitor the fluid build up. I noticed that the fluid was no longer yellow but bloody.

I believe at that time I had no more seroma and now have hematomas. The doctor explained that if they are treated and drained I’m fine it’s when they are not treated and grow, then it will sometimes require them to be physically removed. My hematomas are not large but they are uncomfortable. It feels like when you are pregnant and the baby sticks his/her foot in your side…yep that’s the feeling…lol.. the good thing about being preg is you can poke the baby’s foot and they will move it…but not with hematomas.

Dr. Staggers said to come back in a few weeks and then he will either insert a small drain, or there is another procedure where he will inject something to help close the hollow area. Dr. Staggers stated that the body is making fluid to fill up the hollow areas from surgery, which I was able to understand. He said that normally the body will reabsorbed and heal on it’s own and this side affect is common nothing to be alarmed about, this visit only cost me $60.00, he said if he has to insert a drain the entire procedure will cost $150.00 which isn’t bad considering in Pcola they wanted to charge me over $2000.00.

Shortly after that appointment it took no time to feel the fluid coming back. So I knew the doctor would more than likely put in the drain. I had my primary care order another ultrasound in hopes that it would help the doctor with inserting the tube.

On 2/13 I went for my appointment with Dr. Staggers and surprisingly he only drained 2cc, But I thought it was more there. Dr. Staggers said that it is scar tissue and it will take a while 6-12 months for is to reabsorb back into the body because it is small. He did say that it was okay for me to go to the gym, he said not to do any straining ab exercise for now. I was relieved of not having to have a drain inserted. With all the fluid and going back and forth to the doctor I can still say that my surgery was worth it, and even with the extra expenses It was still much cheaper than having is done here in the U.S. No PS would have done all the extra things that Dr. Robles did to me without charging me.

I will say that you go through phases of depression if you have any complications but it all will eventually pass and you body will get back to normal if you listen to your body and get the medical care that you need after, I’m sure If I would have not gotten drained I could have had some serious problems…The first draining I had around 80cc and today it’s down to 2cc, and I thank God that I was able to find two great doctors to help me with this minor set back. Considering that fact that I had NO infections I call it minor…but even with it being minor it could have been much worse…but not because of anything that Dr. Robles did…some patience develop seromas and hematoma and unfortunately I was one of them. I do believe that it I would have left my drains in longer I would not have gone this long with fluid…but hey we live and learn.

Now that I can start back going to the gym I’m going to be better at updating my profile, I was depressed because I was gaining weight from being home (I’m not currently working). But after my visit today I feel much better and I plan to get back to the gym asap!