AboutAlan M. Engler, MD, FACS Expertise Dr. Engler has answered over 2300 plastic surgery questions for Allexperts. His expertise is in cosmetic plastic surgery including breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts etc.
Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction."
Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (SEARCH FOR "DR. ENGLER"). His website is www.bodysculpture.com.
Experience Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Organizations belong to ASAPS (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery); ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons); ACS (American College of Surgeons); Clinical Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York
Expert: Alan M. Engler, MD, FACS Date: 7/20/2008 Subject: fluid build-up post breast reduction surgery
Question Hi Dr. Engler, I am a 53 year old women who 4 weeks ago had a breast
reduction and lift. The first 2 weeks after surgery I was feeling fine. The past 2
weeks have been increasingly uncomfortable. I saw one of my surgeons
associates 2 weeks after surgery and he said things were healing nicely and
that the pain was just part of the healing process. The pain continued so i
went back and saw my own surgeon the following week. He drained both
breasts and said that should give me relief immediately but it hasn't. My
question is how much noise should I be making in order to get relief from
this pain. Is this normal and should I just be patient and keep taking
painkillers or should i insist that someone see me immediately and drain me
again? Do I need an antibiotic until the draining stops? Thank you for
response. Janet
Answer Hi Janet,
There's more about breast reductions at www.bodysculpture.com.
It depends on what's causing your discomfort. If you still have fluid in there (meaning with the surgical spaces, rather than spread diffusely throughout the tissues) then it should be drained until you have relief. I would not hesitate to reinsert a drain on each side (there are many different types) until it is out.
If it diffuse then it is just swelling, and there isn't really much that can be done about it; it should go down on its own eventually.
So you need to figure out exactly what the cause is, and I'm not sure that I can help with that via this forum.
However, in general, if you're in the amount of discomfort you describe at this relatively late stage (ie, 4 weeks post-op) this is not the time to be the strong silent type. Don't hesitate to speak to your surgeon and have this matter explored to see exactly what's causing your symptoms. There may or may not be something that can be done about it, but you should at least get to that point.
