6 Months PostOp -concerned

[JohnDoe84]

Hi,
I had surgery(excision and lipo ) 6 months ago on my right side , and the result looks ok.
But, I'm worried because every time I lift my arm I can feel the area tightening ,and the whole thing makes me feel discomfort and is at times painful. I've felt this way since after the operation , with no improvement.
Is this normal at this stage ,so long after the operation? 

thanks

[sws]

I've also had the same experience with my left side being very tight when I lift my arm up.

My surgeon told me to do gentle stretching but after 4 months I'm still noticing it being quite tight.

Any info would be appreciated...

[EgyptinMagicin21]

If anything, the surgeon didn't put enough fat over your pectoral muscle, so your skin has healed to the chest muscle. I'm not sure if I read exactly where you felt the pain/tightness, but if you could be more specific that would help a lot.

As well, what does it look life when you life you're arm? Does it look normal, or does the skin behave in an awkward way, which would be further evidence of my previous statement.

Hope this helps.

[JohnDoe84]

First,thanks for commenting.

What you're saying makes sense because there's actually a small dent around the areola.
The tightness is all around the right chest, not sure how else to decribe it.

do you think it will heal on its own?

[frozen]

Just a quick note as I'm writing on my phone but the effect you're describing; where the top layer of skin 'sticks' to the layer of muscle below is known as "skin tethering". You're not the first person to get this and I've seen many people on here with the same problem. I think one solution is to have fat injected into that specific area but also to make sure that the new fat has an adequate blood supply to ensure it doesn't turn hard. Speak to your ps!

[sws]

Thanks for all the posts

When I lift my arm, the skin gets so tight that it looks as if it's stretching.  Is it possible to fix this problem with just stretches and excersises alone?   I really don't want to go back to my ps for fat injection....hell I just had it sucked out!

Thanks again

[frozen]

I don't think stretching excercises alone would help. From what I've heard, you have a bottom layer of muscles in your chest, with a layer of fat on top which acts as a kind of lubricant for the skin above to move around on. What might have happened is your PS took out too much fat in a certain area, so your skin is sticking to the muscle behind it.

I think the best DIY treatment you could do is massage the area very intensively. I only say this as you may be able to effectively *spread* some of the fat around in that area to level things out a bit. Don't take my word for this though, I have no medical proof that this would work - it's just what I personally would try if I didn't want to go back and see my ps.

Good luck though, let us know how things progress!

[EgyptinMagicin21]

Hey again,

I really think seeing your PS is the best solution. Your six months in...you've had some time to heal, so they can't pull that "You just need to heal" talk since your halfway into the full recovery period; and if anything, they should want to try to alleviate your pain and anxiety. If not, then your PS is a terrible person, sorry to say.

[bravo]

Hi.

I had exactly the same thing, it was on my left side. It was noticable for about 6 months (i'm now 11 months post op). I started going back to the gym 8 weeks after surgery, and kept up with the exercising and everything is back to normal, i'd say keep up with the stretches