Has anyone experienced necrosis after a mastectomy?

Praying for you. I had a bilateral but really did not have any issues except for the drains.

Hi Tara, I had a mastectomy in 2020, the expander was put in. However, the skin became necrotic so I had to get surgery to remove the expander and dead tissue. The wound would not heal, lymphatic fluid was pouring out of the wound. Drains were put in again but the lymph fluid was still oozing out of the open wound. Three months later I had surgery to get hooked up to a wound vac (wound healing machine). Visiting nurse every other day to change the dressing. I had to use the wound vac for 5 months before it healed. Earlier this year I had sharp pain in my ribs, after testing , it turned out that I have metastatic breast cancer in nearly every bone and lungs, was put on ibrance, anasterzole and xgeva. After 5 months of treatments , I found out two days ago that my cancer has progressed. I’m not sure what the doctor is planning on doing. I’m sure that whatever his plan, it will be another breast cancer adventure into the unknown! Hang in there and the only suggestion would be to be patient, it will heal eventually. Just make sure you keep the area as clean as possible, as an infection would not help healing. Good luck to you. Please keep in touch . You are the only other person I know of that experienced a problem getting the wound closed!

Tara my prayers are with you. I pray for complete healing in the name of Jesus.

Tara sending love n prayers for your healing. I'm so sorry you had such a difficult time healing. All the best to you

May the Lord be with you my prayers are with you

I had left breast masectomy in March . The drain tubes were clogging , developed a large clot behind the wound wound up with another surgery to remove the clot and then had that wound vac contraption for 2 months .had home nurse 2x a week and had to go to the wound care center 1x a week .not fun but finally the wound healed .then I did 24of 28 radiation treatments. I now have to do CT scans on bones ,chest etc I have been on anastrozole 1 mg tabs since Feb when it was discovered ( invasive lobular carcinoma ) also will be in it 5+ years. Also ferrous which are iron pills because the hormone does something that weakens your bones .just finish them a couple days ago .now have to do scans etc to see results as the only way they know if the radiation works is if it doesn't come back or go someplace else. I had a cell in my muscular skeletal wall hoping it's gone ??? Good luck to us both ♥️🙏🏻🙏🏻👍🏻

Forgot to mention I am 82 yrs old . My surgeon said usually breast cancer not I people my age and to watch where you keep your cell phone. I am guilty of sticking my old flip phone in my bra but the newer phones I got into 6yrs ago I never did that with but I do hold it in my left hand close to the area while texting or going FB and Gmail . I chose not to have reconstruction because really at my age who cares and I am not fond of surgery 😫

This sounds like a challenging and frustrating complication to deal with during your recovery. Necrosis after mastectomy can occur, and many community members have shared experiences with wound healing complications and the additional care required. The healing process can vary significantly between sides, even when procedures are performed at the same time. Connecting with others who have navigated similar wound care challenges might provide helpful insights and support during this time.