You may have “phantom sensations” or “phantom pain” in the months after mastectomy: As nerves regrow, you may feel a weird crawly sensation, you may itch, you may be very sensitive to touch, and you may feel pressure. Your discomfort may go away by itself, or it may persist but you adapt to it.
Steroid injections can help to soften and flatten hypertrophic and keloid scars. They may also reduce any pain and itching caused by the scar. Pressure treatment with an individually tailored elastic garment may help reduce a scar. Surgery can remove scar tissue but will also make new scar tissue.
Tissue expanders can feel very hard and unnatural because they are thicker and less flexible than implants. Breast skin and nerves are usually numb after a mastectomy, so the pain is caused by the stretching of the muscle. Pain from tissue expanders will feel similar to muscle spasms, cramps, or muscular tightness.
Shoulder and back pain after mastectomy – a reality! Mastectomy pain is often the result of scarring and adhesion formation that occurs to help the body heal after radiation or surgery. Adhesions that persist after a mastectomy can cause disabling pain and dysfunction in the neck and upper back.
During a mastectomy, the nerves that provide feeling to the breast and nipple are severed, causing loss of sensation in the remaining skin whether the woman undergoes reconstruction or not. Over time, some women experience a return of feeling but it is typically minimal.
After breast cancer surgery, some women experience numbness, swelling, weakness, or tingling in the arm and shoulder area on the same side of the body on which surgery was done. Lymphedema is a build-up of lymph fluid in arm tissue, which causes swelling.
Mastectomy pain is often the result of scarring and adhesion formation that occurs to help the body heal after radiation or surgery. Adhesions that persist after a mastectomy can cause disabling pain and dysfunction in the neck and upper back.
Phantom pain is pain that feels like it's coming from a body part that's no longer there. Doctors once believed this post-amputation phenomenon was a psychological problem, but experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain.
Most pain stems from damage to the intercostal brachial nerve, which runs under the arm and rib cage. But many other triggers exist as well: scarring, post-operative radiation therapy, some chemotherapy drugs, and the unusual sensations often associated with phantom pain.
Begin exercises the day after your surgery. Plan to take your pain medication 20 to 30 minutes before doing your exercises. Breathe deeply and often as you do each exercise. Do the exercises 3 times a day, every day, until you have regained full range of motion in your arm(s).
Side effects of mastectomy
- Pain or tenderness of the surgery site.
- Swelling at the surgery site.
- Buildup of blood in the wound (hematoma)
- Buildup of clear fluid in the wound (seroma)
- Limited arm or shoulder movement.
- Numbness in the chest or upper arm.
Surgery for breast cancer can save your life. But if you're like many women, you may not expect to be left with numbness. Treatments to reverse breast numbness after mastectomy are not yet available. So surgeons are searching for ways to help women retain breast and nipple sensation.
Scar tissue can cause its own side effects: nerve pain or numbness if scar tissue forms around nerves. A lump of scar tissue forms in the hole left after breast tissue is removed. If scar tissue forms around a stitch from surgery it's called a suture granuloma and also feels like a lump.
In a medical breakthrough, Australian surgeons have managed to regrow breast tissue for women who have had cancer surgery. They say in one patient, breast tissue was successfully grown from her own fat cells. After undergoing a mastectomy, many women choose to have a breast reconstruction.
Whether you wear a surgical bra after your procedure will likely depend on your surgeon's preference and the type of surgery you had performed. Some patients will benefit from wearing a compression bra around the clock for the first four to six weeks, but many will be advised not to, Dr. Liu says.
Mastectomy pillow - THIS WAS MY FAVORITE ITEM! I cannot recommend this enough. It is a pillow that goes underneath the arms and over the breast area to protect your new incision(s), and it will make you feel more secure when hugging people.
- Seat Belt Pillow. After a lumpectomy, mastectomy, or breast reconstruction, your chest area will be tender anywhere you have incisions and sometimes in places you don't.
- Armpit Comfort Pillow.
- Armrest Pillow.
- Breast Support Pillow.
- Pillow Between Breasts.
- Knee Pillow.
- Neck Pillow.
- Lower Back Pillow.
After a mastectomy, lumpectomy, or even a breast reduction is performed, the patient is told to wear a tight bra to put pressure on the surgical site. This helps to lessen the risk of fluid leaks and speeds up healing.
Do not engage in sexual intercourse for the first one to two weeks. Do not sleep on your side or stomach for one to three weeks.
At-home recovery from mastectomy
- Rest.
- Take pain medication as needed.
- Take sponge baths until your doctor has removed your drains and/or sutures.
- Continue doing arm exercises each day.
- Have friends and family pitch in around the house.
First, a mastectomy is considered major surgery. Most mastectomies involve removing all or nearly all of the breast tissue and several nearby lymph nodes. Breastcancer.org reports that "mastectomy with axillary dissection (modified radical mastectomy) can take 2 to 3 hours."
Here are the things Donofree wishes she knew about getting dressed after a mastectomy.
- Experiment with scarves, hats, or headwraps.
- Find a bra that fastens in the front.
- Conceal but protect your surgical drains.
- Dress in clothes you can step into or wrap around you.
- Embrace loose-fitting clothes with natural fabrics.
Roomy tops or long, flowing dresses can also help to disguise drains, while a pair of soft, comfy pyjamas or a wrap dress which buttons or ties at the front are good for those days when you just want to rest and take it easy.
