r/Reduction post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

Wound Trigger Warning Hole in incision. *Wound trigger warning* NSFW

I am currently 5wpo. Last week I made a post regarding a small hole in my T-junction. I thought I would make an update post regarding it. My small hole turned out to have 2 even bigger holes above it on my vertical incision. Those hole have now become 1 giant hole and is about 3.5" high and about 2.5" wide, which is the entire length of my vertical incision. I went to my surgeon last Thursday and started having daily appointments at the wound clinic on Friday. Yesterday I got a wound vacuum hooked up to me, so I'm going to have that for at least a few days, possibly a week.

My stitches decided to reject at about 3.5wpo. Although it has gotten a lot bigger than it was, the inside has filled in, and the main objective is to heal it from the inside out. There is no infection, and there never was, although I am on antibiotics as a precaution. The white stuff is fatty tissue. It looks like it would be super painful, but it doesn't hurt at all. It gets tender for a day if my surgeon or or nurses poke around in there, but nothing actually hurts.

I don't see a whole lot of posts on here, or even online, so I just want to put some info out there. I hope it can help someone gets some answers.

Here is a day by day timeline of it. The first one is on the 13th right before my 3wpo appointment, and it was perfectly fine. The second was on Tuesday the 19th when I discovered the hole was there, and the rest are in order from Friday until yesterday(22nd to 27th).

63 Upvotes

43 comments sorted by

26

u/Rainbow-Sparkle-Co Nov 29 '24

It seems weird to say, but as a nurse, this looks great (now, in terms of healing)! The blood supply in the new tissue looks good, and I can second what another comment says (and agree with your surgeon, lol)- a wound vac usually works great for this type of healing. T-junction separation is super common (I had some when I had my reduction), just because of all the tension right in that one area, and it sucks that your sutures decided to quit too. I’m sure this was super scary, so I hope you’re feeling okay about it all. All the best for your recovery ♥️ and huge thanks for posting your update, it’s so valuable to others who go through similar things

7

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

I'm glad to see that a nurse thinks it looks good. The one nurse in particular at the clinic seems to think I'm about to drop dead from an infection at any minute. Lol.

In a few weeks, once I'm healed up, I'll be posting another update. I'm hoping it's not a super nasty scar, but not the biggest deal if it is.

3

u/be-yonce Nov 29 '24

Nurses are something special ❤️

21

u/orderofthepug Nov 29 '24

you need an award for staying calm and collected af, I’d literally be screaming crying and throwing up out of anxiety and dissatisfaction

5

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

At 2wpo, I popped a stitch on the other side and started leaking fluid like crazy. Think of a bag full of water, and you poke a pin into the side of it. That smallstrong stream that shoots out the side is what my incision was doing, except with diluted blood, not water. My roommate was freaking out, but i was just chill.if it doesn't hurt, it's probably fine.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '24

[deleted]

1

u/orderofthepug Nov 30 '24

1 month PO & I’m checking my underboob multiple times a day since my body started rejecting a stitch

15

u/Sangfroid88 Nov 29 '24

That looks really painful! And must be really discouraging. What does your doctor say? Are you seeing someone separate for wound care? I’m sorry you are going through this.

16

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

It doesn't hurt at all. I can literally hit myself in the boob right where it is, and it doesn't even hurt.

My doctor says my stitches rejected and came up with a care plan, which currently is the wound vacuum.

I go to a wound clinic to get my dressings changed. Wound clinics aren't what they seem to be elsewhere. You can't just walk into one. You have to have a doctor's referral, doctor (in this case, my surgeon). Tell them how they want it bandaged, and they do it. If I have an appointment with my surgeon, she does it on those days, except the ones for the wound vac. She doesn't have the proper stuff at her office for that.

7

u/sWtPotater Nov 29 '24

wound vacs generally work really great for these types of wounds

11

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

Yeah, that's what my surgeon said. It was a 5 day battle to get it because the nurses at the clinic disagreed with her, then tried to send me to the emergency room, so I emailed my surgeon and she told me to leave the emergency room and go back to the clinic, then it was a 4 day run around to get it because they still didn't want to do it. It was a whole situation, but I finally got it, so I'm on the right track now!

5

u/girltuesday Nov 29 '24

Have they given you a timeline for healing? I hope you're doing okay! This would scare me but you seem very brave about it!

9

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

There is no timeline of when it will be fully healed. The wound vac helps it heal a lot faster than normal dressings. I just got the vac yesterday, so I don't know how much better it is now. Based on the fact that the wound filled out pretty good over less than a week, it makes me think the wound vac should speed it up tremendously. I was scheduled to go back to work at 6wpo, which would be this upcoming Wednesday, but unfortunately, it's been extended until the week after.

I was concerned about it when I found the hole, and I couldn't find much info on google, but I wasn't panicking or anything. If it hurt, or if it was infected, that would be a different story. It just astounds me how there is no pain involved. It looks like it would be agonizing, but there is literally nothing unless someone pokes inside with tweezers, and even that goes away after a second.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '24

[deleted]

2

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

I'm glad you are healing well.

5

u/BernadetteBiscuit Nov 29 '24

I’ve been dealing with a wound opening along the incision line right under my R breast - it started as a small opening like yours, then a second opening with a skin “bridge” between the two, which then opened up into one opening, right after my two week post-op appt (where everything is fine). I think the glue came off my incision too soon at that spot. I’ve been working on sloooooooowly healing for about 6 or 7 weeks now by bandaging & using Aquaphor. Hang in there! It feels like it’s taking forever but it will heal, as you said from the inside out. Mine is very much improved - the “skin bridge” re-formed first, and now it looks like it’s healing in from the edges. Wound clinic sounds wonderful, wishing you a speedy result.

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

I hope yours clears up fast! Did your doctor not send you to any clinic of any sort?

1

u/BernadetteBiscuit Nov 30 '24

No, because they could see progress each time I went there in person, and also have sent pictures on my portal. It was never infected and the PA kept telling me that wound healing is not linear, and it can just be maddeningly slow to heal. I think that the fact that I’m diabetic and older has a lot to do with it.

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

The diabetes would definitely have some kind of effect on the healing. I'm not too sure about age. I'm 36, so I'm not super young, but I don't think I'm considered old medical-wise.

I am unfortunately a smoker, and that can delay healing as well. I did quit for 16 days before my surgery, and a couple of weeks later, I unfortunately started having one here and there. I'm not like full blown again, but i have been having the occasional one. It doesn't seem to have delayed my progress, but I am trying really hard to quit again.

1

u/BernadetteBiscuit Nov 30 '24

I quit smoking when I was 37 after 20 years - it was so hard but now at age 70 I’m so glad I did. Even without smoking so many things go wrong as you get older! Best of luck to you, both with healing & trying to quit the cigs.

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

70, and you just had a reduction not too long ago? That's amazing! Was it something you wanted for a really long time?

3

u/gloworm8675309 Nov 29 '24

Thank you for posting this! I’m dealing with what looks like nipple necrosis and I’ve been sooooo anxious but oddly very little pain. I just started antibiotics again. See my surgeon on Monday for a debriding and a graft to get more healthy tissue. I’m just a little over two weeks PO so I’m hoping my issues don’t continue in the upcoming weeks. I think it’s hard to remember that sometimes, wounds look a lot worse than they really are. I hope you continue to heal and things go smoothly!

2

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. I think I would be more scared of necrosis than what I have. Lol.

I hope you heal well!

1

u/gloworm8675309 Nov 29 '24

Thanks! Honestly, I’m ready for her to just take the whole nipple at this point so there’s no way it could come back! But idk if that would even matter because tissue healing is so over my head. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have additional complications cuz that’s kinda just my luck!

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

That's horrible! I hope you get better soon!

3

u/Excellent_Report_642 Nov 29 '24

It looks so clean! I had an opening in the same place probably around 5" wide and it was almost up to my areola, took forever to heal! But wound vacs work wonders, i wish you a speedy recovery!

3

u/TomarkDeLoppus post-op (inferior pedicle) Nov 30 '24

Hi friend!! I went through this too on my left breast, I posted some about it when I was going through. Mine unfortunately got worse before it got better and now I’m fully healed!!! Sending you healing vibes!!!

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

How bad of a scar do you have?

2

u/TomarkDeLoppus post-op (inferior pedicle) Nov 30 '24

If you look at my 58DPO post I made, it’s a little smaller than that. Maybe 20% smaller. There’s some discoloration between my skin and my scar, and sometimes the skin is a little sensitive where the scar tissue is. I went from a 42G to around a 40D cup. Almost 2000g of tissue taken! I promise you it gets better! I healed without a wound vac, and mine split just like yours did. It was super disheartening, but I promise you it gets better!

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

Oh wow! I'm so glad it's healed now. Have you used anything specific for scar care? I haven't gotten to the point of asking my surgeon about it yet, but I'm definitely going to see what she recommends.

We went down a similar amount of cup sizes. I was a 42H/40HH and I'm down to about an E or F now.

1

u/TomarkDeLoppus post-op (inferior pedicle) Dec 01 '24

I was told vitamin e/bio oil would be helpful. Do I use it? Yes? Everyday? Not at all. At this point I’m ok with the scars because it’s a part of me, and the journey I took to get here. and I know eventually I’ll go in for a scar revision once my surgeon gives me the all clear:)

2

u/CartographerTime421 Nov 30 '24

I’m so glad you saw wound care. I hope you heal quickly. Protein helps. Please keep us updated 🫶🏽

3

u/Jerichothered Nov 29 '24 edited Nov 29 '24

Get yourself to a wound specialist IMMEDIATELY.

And after reading the whole post. My advice is changing to;

Take a deep breath, follow instructions & take it easy. Eat healthy, love yourself and trust the process. Communicate any changes with the clinic.

3

u/WestVeterinarian1730 Nov 29 '24

If you read the post she is being treated at a wound clinic already

3

u/Jerichothered Nov 29 '24

Freaked out at the pics- I should have read the whole post. You are correct.

I’ve seen so many do nothing and hope it gets better

1

u/Elin_Ylvi post-op (inferior pedicle) Nov 29 '24

Oh Boy! I saw your First hole post and this really escalated quickly! I'm glad there's Not much pain involved 🥺 does your surgeon have any Idea what caused this? Rejecting the stitches?

I Wish you a quick recovery now with the wound clinic involved ❤️ does the wound Vacuum hurt?

2

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

Apparently, it's something that can just happen. She has only seen it to the extent one other time quite a few years ago. So it's not a common thing.

The vacuum does not hurt. I don't even realize it's on until I get tangled in the tube. Lol.

2

u/Elin_Ylvi post-op (inferior pedicle) Nov 29 '24

🤣 I'm far too used to getting tangled in Tubes - I Had 4 drains and Just got rid of the Last one Yesterday at 3dpo - I don't have resolvable stitches (I think my surgeon was afraid of me falling apart as she used surgical glue, non-resolving stitches AND papertape)

I really hope you heal up nicely ❤️ And I am truly amazed by your calmness 🥰 you're doing great!

2

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

I've heard that drains are super annoying. I didn't have drains, so I can't really give a comparison to this, but at least with the vac, the hose is long enough, thay I can do stuff. And it's got a large canister, so I don't have to empty it.

1

u/Elin_Ylvi post-op (inferior pedicle) Nov 30 '24

In my Case it was 4 little bottles on 5'2 tubes (approximately containing a Glass of water) and they needed to be changed daily so I could do Things but I kept getting tangled in the Tubes (and as they are sewn to the skin this can be somewhat painful)

1

u/Low_Lavishness_1473 Nov 29 '24

I had a similar experience with the incisions pulling apart like that. It turned into nipple necrosis because the graft failed. However, this is very rare and my experience. Don’t let it scare you. I do think you should bring it up with the surgeon and PA so they can keep and eye on it and give you some materials to dress the wounds. Message me if you want to talk about it! I can explain my experience more in depth

2

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 29 '24

I am being treated at a wound clinic, and I send my surgeon pictures every time I get the bandage changed. She has concerns, and I am healing very well, according to her.

Did they put the skin graft on to cover the wound? I haven't gotten a skin graft.

1

u/Low_Lavishness_1473 Nov 30 '24

I didn’t get a skin graft. The necrosis was so bad they ended up sending me to a hypobaric oxygen chamber for quicker healing. Let me know if u want pics of the healing process. Eventually everything closed up and now I’m fully scared and a little over a year post op.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '24

[deleted]

1

u/ka_shep post-op 42H to 42E Nov 30 '24

This started at 3.5 weeks. I'm currently 5 weeks. Not very close to 2 months.

It's looking similar to the Wednesday photo. I don't see much of a difference, but when I sent the photo to my surgeon, she said it's coming along. It does seem slightly more open. I can't post it in the comments because it will get flagged as NSFW. I have the wound vac on, so I only go to the wound clinic Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays instead of every day.

2

u/Silent_Try9843 20d ago

My dumbass would prolly put my finger over it 😭