Expert: Khumar Huse - 11/15/2006

Question
I had right dismembered pyleoplasty done 5 days ago. I woke up this morning with a hematoma (4 x 6 inches). It is on the very front part of my pelvis down towards my vagina. It is not painful but is VERY dark purple and covers that entire area. What would cause this-being that it isn't even close to the surgical site?

Answer
Hope you are recovering from the operation well. Hematoma is basically a bleeding into a space, tissues, etc. Sometimes it happens because there are small vessels oozing after surgery that were retracted and not visible to be seen and tied during surgery. They usually stop on their own. Sometimes it happens because a patient is on a blood thinner, or have some blood disorder. This is usually treated with medications to help blood become thick. And hematoma may not correspond to surgery site sometimes. Now, another thing you may have is a bruise. If that 4x6-inch area is not bulging and looks bruised from outside it may as well be a bruise. Sometimes retraasctors that we use udring surgery to retract the skin/incision may cause this. In any case, the signs you need to look for are whether it is stable or increasing in size, any fluctuation inside and increasing pain, fever and expansion into other areas. If you see these signs then you should go to emergency. If you dont see themand it is reducing in size SLOWLY (it will take quite some time) then you are fine. In any case, make an appointment with your surgeon and tell them about this so that they are aware. Hope this helps.