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Mastectomy with Flap Reconstruction
Questions about Mastectomy with Flap Reconstruction.
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AskedPublicly Submitted Question
1/28/2012Hi, I just had diep flap surgery 1 week ago. Since the day I came home from the hospital I have had bad back pain when standing. I'm hoping that this is because of standing slightly all of the time. Does everyone have this problem?
One other problem I have is ever since my drains were removed I have had a lot of leakage in my abdomen along the incision. I'm hoping that this will stop in the next couple of days. In the meantime it is very messy. Should I be concerned? Visiting nurse has seen it.
RepliedJHU's Breast Center Reply
1/28/2012The visiting nurse should make your plastic surgeon aware. sometimes even if the drain was producing less than 30 ccs over a 24 hour period (the criteria for drain removal) the body still might want to continue to make fluid a while longer particularly as a patient becomes more active. Back pain is usually from being on a stainless steel table for a long time. The OR table is far from a comfortable bed but the patient is under anesthesia and unable to say, "hey, my lower back is sore." Commonly blankets are between the patient's back and the actual cold stainless steel too and that means a tiny tiny wrinkle can happen in that blanket causing constant pressure for however many hours the patient was lying there. Bottom line, this should subside. Ask your surgeon if you can take an anti-inflammatory rather than a narcotic pill for pain relief of your back. hope your pathlogy returns with all good news for a speedy recovery.

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