Stages of rehabilitation
Carrying out mammoplasty is a fairly serious surgical intervention, performed under general anesthesia, accompanied by tissue incisions and trauma when placing implants, followed by suturing. Therefore, the rehabilitation process takes place in stages, with certain restrictions and prohibitions over several days or weeks. The patient needs to strictly monitor her general well-being, monitor the condition of the postoperative scar and follow all the recommendations of the plastic surgeon. This is necessary so that expectations regarding the desired shape and size of the breast are met, and the recovery process goes according to plan.
In general, the first (postoperative) rehabilitation period lasts up to two months, full recovery occurs within 6-12 months.
How to stop lymph flow
In a situation where discharge from a small wound bothers the patient with unpleasant sensations, doctors recommend treatment with hydrogen peroxide (using a piece of bandage or a cotton swab). If the situation does not improve or suppuration occurs, then you should undergo a course of more complex drug treatment: ointments with antibiotics (for example, Levomikol) are most often prescribed.
If drug treatment for suppuration does not help, then the wound is often opened surgically, then the pus is removed and the wound is disinfected. Next, treatment is carried out until the wound surface is completely scarred.
Rehabilitation after mammoplasty by day
The patient spends the first day after the operation in the ward under the supervision of a doctor and nurses, recovering from anesthesia. An increase in temperature is possible as a reaction to incisions and tissue injury, pain. Antipyretics, painkillers, and antibiotics may be recommended to prevent wound infection. After the operation, a semi-lying or sitting position is required; by the end of the day you can stand up and walk. You can drink 3-4 hours after anesthesia, eat food after 5-6 hours.
On the second day, the doctor conducts an examination, removes drainages and makes dressings. In some clinics, the patient is allowed to go home by the end of the second or third day with positive dynamics of recovery.
The patient remains at home for the third or fourth day. Physical activity is prohibited; walking around the house is acceptable.
On the fifth day, a visit to the clinic is required for a follow-up examination by a surgeon and assessment of the recovery process, dressing, and suture treatment.
From 6 to 11 days after surgery, there is a smooth return to normal life with a number of restrictions. Physical activity, sports and heavy lifting are prohibited.
On the 12th day, the doctor conducts an examination again, monitoring the process of restoration of breast tissue and postoperative suture. The next visit during the normal rehabilitation process is planned for the 6th week from the date of surgery.
In the second or third week after the intervention, light housework is allowed; after the doctor’s permission, you can start training after about a month.
Leakage of lymph in trophic ulcers
One of the serious complications in which the situation of lymph leakage from wounds on the legs occurs is trophic ulcers. Ulcers appear with such a common disease as varicose veins.
Trophic ulcers are a chronic process, usually lasting more than 6 weeks, in which a skin defect occurs on the leg (usually on the lower leg) with a weak tendency to heal. This disease occurs due to venous stagnation of blood caused by varicose veins.
The most common cause of ulcers is increased stress on the veins of the legs when a person walks for a long time or spends time standing on his feet. If the patient engages in heavy physical labor and is not treated, the disease progresses. Thinning of the skin and walls of the veins in the legs occurs, the veins “come out” and become visible and painful.
When trophic ulcers appear, lymph and purulent-bloody discharge flow, and the smell is usually unpleasant. Itching appears when cleansing. In this situation, urgent effective treatment is necessary, the purpose of which is to clean the wound and prevent infection.
The result of treatment of trophic ulcers.
Dynamics of changes in the breast during the recovery period
In the first month after surgery, the breasts are quite painful, the tissues swell, and the breast size may be larger than expected. Bruising and small hematomas may appear in the area of the mammary glands. Women are concerned about how long breast swelling lasts after surgery. Maximum swelling will occur in the first week; within 2-3 weeks all these changes will subside. The pain will be maximum in the first days; painkillers are used to eliminate it. Gradually, the intensity of pain decreases by 2-3 weeks, and the need for medications disappears.
In the first two months, the breasts will be somewhat unnaturally raised; by the end of the second month, the implants will completely take root, take their proper place, tissue swelling will go away, and the shape of the breast will become natural. Breast tissue restoration takes place throughout the first year after the intervention. There may be problems with sensitivity of the halos and nipple, burning or itching of the skin. These problems are acceptable and disappear by the end of the first or beginning of the second year.
Treatment of an incompetent uterine scar
“Hand suture in endoscopic surgery”, K. V. Puchkov, D. S. Rodichenko
Patent. Method of laparoscopic myomectomy
To correct a defective scar on the uterus, women are offered open (laparotomy) surgery. This is due to the location of the altered scar in an “inconvenient” area for the surgeon under the bladder. Excision of the scar in this area is accompanied by severe bleeding due to the good blood supply to this area of the uterus. This complication often leads to blood transfusion during surgery.
For this reason, laparoscopic correction of a pathologically altered scar often involves greater blood loss than open surgery, lasts longer, and is associated with a fairly high risk of conversion—switching to open surgery. In such difficult conditions, during laparoscopy, the surgeon creates a less reliable suture on the wall of the uterus than during open surgery.
I was actively looking for ways to resolve this issue. As a result of 10 years of work, I developed an original method of laparoscopic surgery to correct incompetent uterine scars (metroplasty) , which, in our opinion, allows us to successfully solve all the problems described above. In this case, the operation to excise pathological tissues in the scar zone with the formation of a new full-fledged suture is performed laparoscopically without blood loss, with reliable suturing of the uterine wall, as well as the absence of adhesions in the pelvic area, which is very important for preserving the patient’s ability to conceive independently, the course of pregnancy and subsequent births.
The advantages of laparoscopic reconstructive metroplasty are obvious:
- reducing the invasiveness of the operation - instead of an incision in the anterior abdominal wall - 3 punctures of 5-10 mm;
- cosmetic effect;
- reducing the risk of adhesions;
- fast rehabilitation.
What to pay attention to during the rehabilitation period
There are a number of warning signs, the appearance of which is a reason for immediate consultation with a doctor. The first thing that needs to be monitored is the condition of the postoperative wound and the process of scar formation. It is important to notify your doctor immediately if:
- increased pain in the area of the stitches or inside the chest;
- discharge appeared from the nipple area - green, yellowish, bloody, with an odor;
- the breast is swollen, hard to the touch, painful, sharply increased in size;
- parts of the implant are felt, they move, causing discomfort;
- the sutures become wet and fluid or blood oozes out;
- nipples itch and itch, have lost sensitivity;
- breasts are visually different sizes, asymmetrical.
It is important to monitor your general condition if you feel unwell, have a fever, headache, or nausea. Any signs of malaise, discomfort and other complaints are a reason for an immediate visit to the doctor.
How to avoid getting the seam wet
Preventing the postoperative suture from getting wet is easier than treating a festering wound later. Therefore, patients must take proper care of their sutures. The rules of care are elementary and logical, but for some reason some people still neglect them.
- Change the bandage according to the regimen prescribed by the doctor. Minimum – once a day. If bandages quickly become wet and leak, you should increase the frequency of dressings.
- Changing the dressing should be done with clean hands and without unauthorized persons or animals in the room.
- All dressings (bandages, plasters, cotton wool) must be sterile.
- The seam should not be subjected to mechanical stress: friction against clothing, scratching, picking.
- Do not wet postoperative wounds until they are completely healed.
- If there is any suspicion of pathology (the wound is oozing, the suture has changed color, has festered, become inflamed), you should consult a doctor.
A suture that gets wet after surgery is not only an unpleasant problem that spoils bed linen and clothing, but also a risk of complications in the form of ulcers and necrosis. This also extends the healing time and quality of the suture, which as a result can turn into an unsightly colloidal scar. Therefore, you need to properly care for postoperative wounds and consult a doctor on time.
What not to do after mammoplasty
After the operation, there are a number of restrictions that are gradually weakened as tissues are restored and postoperative scars heal.
You should not drink liquids for the first 3 hours after surgery (vomiting may occur), and you should not eat food for the first 5-6 hours.
For 4-5 days you should not shower your entire body (you can wash your lower part, wipe your hands, neck, and face with a damp towel).
In the first week, you should not lie down, sleep on your stomach at night, raise your arms above shoulder level, lift more than 1 kg of weight, make sudden movements with your arms, or bend forward and down.
Until the end of 2 weeks after the operation, you cannot drive a car or have sex. Until the end of the first year of rehabilitation after mammoplasty, pregnancy is undesirable - you should take care of contraception.
For a month after the operation, physical activity, sports and training are prohibited. Exercises with push-ups and stretching of the pectoral muscles are carried out no earlier than 24-25 weeks after surgery.
During the entire rehabilitation period, you should avoid sudden weight fluctuations, serious stress and nervous strain, and anxiety.
In the first three months, you should stop drinking alcohol and smoking, limit spicy, salty, spiced, fatty and fried foods. It is important to control fluid intake to avoid swelling.
For at least 6 months, you should avoid visiting saunas, steam baths, solariums, prolonged exposure to the sun, and taking hot baths.
Herbal medicine in the fight against complications of postoperative sutures
N. I. Pirogov studied the benefits of medicinal plants and compiled collections in a military hospital. Modern medicine has long scientifically confirmed the medicinal effects of traditional recipes. Herbal medicine is best used as an auxiliary treatment, which is carried out in interaction with the main methods. The essence of herbal medicine is to select the optimal combination of medicinal plants, the action of which is aimed at eliminating one symptom. This principle is used to formulate, for example, breast infusions, kidney teas, anti-inflammatory infusions, and so on. Treatment with herbs and herbs is still not a panacea, especially for such inflammatory processes. By itself, this technique is ineffective, but in combination with traditional medicine it can be a good help and speed up recovery. For example, herbal ointment can be used if an old seam suddenly becomes inflamed, which also happens quite often. Plants used as additional medicines for healing sutures have a number of beneficial properties:
- anti-inflammatory;
- pain reliever;
- antimicrobial;
- accelerating regeneration;
- increasing liver function.
The method of herbal medicine in this case consists of taking herbal preparations internally (infusions, extracts) and for topical use (ointments).
The goals of this treatment are to:
- improving the state of the internal environment of the body and the functioning of the excretory system, reducing intoxication;
- normalization of digestion and prevention of negative effects of medications;
- normalization of immunity;
- processing of postoperative sutures.
Such therapy may well be prescribed by the attending physician. If the scar has festered, then the features of the professional selection of such remedies are that the compositions are selected individually, the diagnosis and personal characteristics of the patient are taken into account, the specialist determines the duration of the course, herbal healing is well suited to other methods of treatment and rehabilitation and determines an integrated approach to the patient’s recovery.
You can use it if an old scar is festering, this also happens sometimes. This happens due to decreased immunity or damage to the scar. If old scars itch, you can make applications that will relieve these symptoms.
Important points during the rehabilitation period
In the first days after mammoplasty and subsequent months, proper breast care in the area of postoperative scars is important. This is important for their fastest healing without severe deformations. In the first days, the doctor treats the area of the sutures and changes the bandages; they are prohibited from being removed or wet. If absorbable threads were used, they are not removed; the resulting crust over the seam cannot be torn off until it completely falls off. To stimulate scar healing, your doctor may prescribe special creams. They make the seams less noticeable.
During the first 2-3 months (or longer), you need to wear a compression bra after mammoplasty. For a month they wear it without taking it off, even at night; from the second month it is permissible to take off the underwear at night. This is important so that the implants take their place and take root well, there are no problems with the skin and ligaments, muscles, and blood flow and lymph drainage are normalized.
On the recommendation of a doctor, therapeutic breast massage may be prescribed. Initially, it is carried out by a massage therapist, teaching the woman, then she performs it independently, in the morning. In the first three weeks, movements should be as light as possible, then lymphatic drainage massage techniques are used.
Information materials on the site are posted for informational purposes, not self-medication. Any plastic surgery is a surgical intervention. When deciding to have surgery, be sure to consult with a qualified professional.
Lymph and lymphatic system
Lymph is a clear, colorless liquid containing lymphocytes, the scientific medical name for ichor. It always begins to stand out at the site of any skin damage.
Having received a wound, a person most often treats it independently at home with an antiseptic (hydrogen peroxide or brilliant green), then covers it with a plaster or bandage. The main task in treatment is not to introduce infection into the healing wound. After all, even after it has been tightened by a crust, the risk of infection exists. If after a long time a wound, for example on a leg, does not heal, the person panics and goes to the doctor with the words: “Help, fluid is oozing from the leg.”
Any doctor will immediately reassure the patient, because lymph is designed by nature to remove salts, water, protein and toxins from tissues and return them to the blood. Lymph is always contained in the human body in a volume of 1-2 liters.
The lymphatic system is a very complex component of the vascular system of the human body. It is involved in metabolism. Its main function is to cleanse and disinfect the body of the “garbage” accumulated inside and prevent the penetration of external infections.
The lymphatic system is involved in maintaining and improving human immunity, protecting against viruses and harmful microbes.
