I had expanders prior to radiation. Actually the point of expanders is to be able to perform radiation and preserve a pocket for your implant. Regular implants will not hold up under radiation. Are you doing too much? I was moving around and doing too much with my arms post surgery and because of it the drainage was higher and had drains in for almost a month. Try bed rest and make sure you are taking your antibiotics. Also you shouldn't be taking tamoxifen if you are. It effects healing. Take huge doses of vitamin c which helps with healing. But hopefully you will heal before radiation because it can complicate healing. I had chemo post surgery so I had months to heal from surgery before radiation. I didn't have any issues with healing. But radiation dos effect final product look as it changes your skin.

Initially I had bilateral mastectomy and immediate reconstruction with tissue expanders. This occurred (Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators), in October 2011 I developed an infection. The medical assistant at my plastic surgeon's office actually noticed it. Later that evening had alot of fluid come out. My plastic surgeon was out of town so his partner added me to her surgery schedule. I also had developed a hole but the medical assistant also prepared some powder and put in on the whole which sealed the hole. This was the only two issues I had initially. I also had one of my tissue expanders come out of the pocket in my chest muscle so when the plastic surgeon did my exchange surgeon he had to do alot of work on my right side (cancer was on the left, stage 2a) he had to do alot of work in order to put the implant in the pocket.

I'm sending prayers to you, too.... of all the things to bring you low, the reconstruction part just shouldn't be one of them (the rest of the treatment, not to mention cancer itself, is plenty hard enough). I'm so sorry you're dealing with this.

I hate to say that upcoming radiation is probably going to complicate things further (particularly if you are unable to fully heal prior to scrambling all of the DNA in your tissues), but it is a probability, and surgery DURING radiation is not ideal (seriously, if you're having healing problems now, they are not going to get better when they nuke you, and expander extrusions in the middle of radiation 1) prolong your treatment period and 2) are REALLY stubborn about healing (I needed 3 months of hyperbaric oxygen--that is 2 hours in a tank every day--to close my wound). I hate to sound alarmist--I really do--but if I had it all to do over again:

I wouldn't have attempted expander reconstruction prior to radiation, no matter how awesome my plastic surgeon thinks he is. No one is that awesome, and 60% of reconstructions prior to rads result in complications (and more surgeries... and possible failure... and a lot more down-time and disappointment.)

Or... if I still attempted reconstruction prior to radiation, I wouldn't have let him replace the expanders when I ran into trouble. It was an extra surgery for no good reason (it wasn't healing from the first time he placed them... opening me up again to replace the stupid things wasn't going to make me heal any better--it was just compromising my skin AGAIN while radiation was making it entirely impossible to heal anyway.)

The ideal reconstruction post-radiation is with a flap procedure (because you are borrowing GOOD HEALTHY skin and tissue from elsewhere on the body--skin that is capable of healing and stretching and behaving like skin does. The nuked stuff just doesn't do that.) I have not run into a surgeon yet who will attempt ANY procedure within 6 months of finishing radiation, and I think that is good practice, and personally, I would wait even longer. I had a friend who made it through expander recon prior to rads, waited almost a year and a half before implant exchange, and had the scar split open after exchange and had to go with a flap procedure anyhow.

I hate to say this even more: if it is looking like your best chances are reconstruction are flap later on once you're through radiation, then removing the expanders now so you can get through the stuff that will save your life without complication is probably the right thing to do (and although it stinks, it will probably save you another half-dozen debride-and-replace surgeries in the meantime). And it is not at all the end of the world--you will be able to reconstruct later. First things first, though--kill that cancer and worry about the rest once you're safely through that and healthy again. It will make all the difference in the success of your reconstruction.

The drainage needs to be checked! Right away. It could be just accumulation of fluid that can be aspirated out. Don't wait too long, the fluid could become infected. The hole probably needs to be taken care of as well. DONT WAIT! Call now and go in to see the doc! Hugs, Kim

i had my lumpectomy Friday13th of march 2015 ,i am type1 diabetic ,after the surgery i was in pain and my breast felt very full,went to surgeons check up then he was leaving the states it was over easter weekend.i woke up in a puddle of clear liquid,stained mattress everything when i went to get up my liquid poured out down my legs into puddles on bathroom floor.ugh so scared.Called my cancer institute 4 hrs later got return called was told put gauze under breast (my incision was @ bottom of breast.i used bath towels every couple hrs afraid to get out of bed so i wouldn't leak .long story short 2 days later got in 2 see on call DR. he was great .Aspirate 3 1/2 tubes of fluid put on 10 days antibiotics.My dr came back wanted 2 see me got mad said i caused this i shouldn't have had aspiration due anyway told me get water pic shower head &do that 2x a day i got worse went from clear liquid,yellow to green thick mucus like sorry not trying to be gross .finally i had to have home health nurse 4 over 3 months, held me up with radiation (3 month window periods up ) nurse flushed with a syring saline,then packed with gaze the hole that was in my breast.i finally started my radiation mid July had 30 rounds & 5 boosts .i completed 30 treatments,but burned so badly i believe it was diabetic related ,radiologist & me decided that 5 boost weren't worth another infection so i was over done ....... I'm healed from burns still have pain occasionally skins very dark brown but I'm good ....had 1st mamogram Monday 11/3/15 everything looked good,clear,no sign of the big C thank God,now in December i see surgeon & oncologist .Im on tamoxifen have been since before radiation started took 2 other hormones.1st one after 3 weeks the pain was unbearable bones muscle headache fever hot flashes etc. I'm grateful I've
been lucky no real side effects for tamoxifen.not sure if I'm going to have to take it for 5 or 10 yrs they will deciede further along I'm told.sorry if i went on to long just wanted to let anyone going through this issue that yes it was a long road hurt but in the end everything is great !!!!!!!! God Bless ,prayer,hugs & positive energy sent 2 all Xo Much love,Lisa