Advice on procedure with complications

[njadva101]

I had my surgery in london on 3rd September - The next day a small hematoma was drained out (Left side), I had bandages for a couple of days. After about a week, I returned to see the surgeon and had some seroma drained 30ml on the left, 6ml on the right. 5 days later again 19ml on the left and 6ml on the right and i'll be going back in 2 days to check again.

I had a lot of buising which is pretty much gone now as in 2 days it will be 3 weeks since surgery.

My concern now is the nipple is taking a while to heal as there was liquidy blood flowing through for the first few days but has now stopped.

Another major thing I am worried about is hardness, i have a lot of stiff tissue under a fairly large amount of area where most the fat was suctioned out. Is this normal? will this reduce over time, It seems as if this heals, the skin is going to become even flatter and i understand its just about 3 weeks but the hard feeling feels like a strong muscle under the skin. Is this normal? if so, how long could it take to go away?

Thanks for any feedback and comments in advance

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

If a hematoma occurs and is recognized and treated (as apparently in your case), then everything you have described is quite acceptable although it may be disconcerting to you.  There would be lots of bruising -- but that disappears.  If there is any small amount of residual blood under the skin, it would seep out through the only exit, which would be the nipple incision.  Once the body has eliminated the blood, the nipple incision should heal spontaneously.  And finally, the hardness is completely normal and will gradually soften up over time.

Best to seek reassurance from your surgeon.

Dr Jacobs