Is 2 weeks enough recovery time after lumpectomy without a drain?

Recovery timelines can vary significantly from person to person, and many community members find that their healing process takes longer than initially expected, especially when returning to physically demanding work. The decision about drains is typically based on the surgeon's assessment of your specific case and their surgical technique. Community members often share valuable insights about their experiences with both drain and drain-free recoveries, so hopefully others will chime in with their stories to help you plan your time off appropriately.

You may not need a sentinel node removal, the new ASCO guidelines state that. If a patient is node negative imaging (MRI, ultrasound, etc) sentinel node removal is no longer required. Tell your doctor to review the ASCO 2025 guidelines, you do not want surgery you do not need, no need for the extra trauma in your body

I am 47. Was diagnosed with stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma in January 2025. I chose a lumpectomy with a lift, and also had 3 sentinel nodes removed. I did not have drains in place post-surgery as part of my procedure. And honestly, I am grateful for it! I took 1 week off from work and then the following week I worked from home at my computer. It honestly was a whirlwind, it took several weeks to fully heal everything but I honestly think everything went fairly well. My only issue is that I am allergic to everything so I had a skin reaction to the cleaning fluid they used before surgery, and I reacted to some of the internal stitches. Which eventually worked their way to the surface of my skin along my scars and looked a bit like pus-filled pimples, which delayed healing a tiny bit in a few localized areas. But this was pretty minor. But with regards to not having drains! I was totally fine without them, and honestly happy to not have to navigate them during that time of my life!